What if the World Ended Tomorrow?
by BeChloeIsLegit
Summary: Zombie Apocalypse AU. A virus has wiped out 70% of the world population. It is now in the United States and hits Barden University. The Bellas and Trebles have been preparing for this day; but who can really be prepared for when it actually happens? Rate M mostly for language.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a based on a prompt from Skyeze.10, who wanted a Bellas Zombie Apocalypse. Here's where my brain went; I hope you like it.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you.**

* * *

"We have no choice, we need supplies," Beca says to the others sitting at the small dining table. "We can go into town and get everything we need and be back here in a couple of hours."

"You're right," agrees Jesse. Seeing Stacie's hesitance he adds, "We all need to go to protect each other."

"I still can't get the sight of them attacking Donald out of my head," tears are forming in Stacie's eyes. She would have thought there were no more left, but it seemed the apocalypse hadn't fully drained her yet.

"Come on, Stacie," Beca argues. "It's been months since the last time we saw any of them." She swallows the lump in her throat, knowing this will hurt. "Since we lost Donald."

"I know," Stacie nods. "I'm just so scared."

"Donald sacrificed himself for us," Jesse assures her. "We can't just sit up here and wait to die. We have to do everything we can to make sure his death was not in vain."

"We're all scared, Stace," Beca says, placing her hand on top of the taller brunette's. "But I'd rather take my chances of running into those things again than sitting up here starving to death. I really don't know how much more fish I can eat without going a little crazy."

"You're both right," Stacie says wiping her face. "I'm sorry. I'll be fine once we start moving."

"Let's get ready," Jesse stands abruptly. He's nervous, the women can tell, but he feels he needs to always have the brave face. "I want to get back here before it gets dark."

Beca nods and goes to her room to change and gather her things. She sits on the side of the bed thinking back over the last nine months.

" _It hasn't even been a year_ ," Beca thinks to herself and shakes her head. This gets her thinking back to when it all began for them. It had been a typical day like any other, well maybe not like any other. The world was going crazy, but they were trying to continue as if everything was normal. The authorities were continuing to assure the public that every safeguard was being taken to ensure the public's safety.

They had decided to maintain their usual schedule, just to keep a sense of normalcy. So the Bellas were all in the auditorium rehearsing for the Regionals, even though it was doubtful they would happen this year. Aubrey had come to visit Stacie for the weekend and was watching their rehearsal from the front row. They had just been finishing up when Bumper came tearing into the Auditorium, paler than normal.

 _Flashback to Nine Months Ago_

" _Amy," Bumper screamed as he ran in. "You have to come with me. Now!"_

" _Bumper," Amy said as he grabbed her arm. "What are you doing here?"_

 _Suddenly, Jesse, Donald, and another Treble came running into the auditorium. They all looked scared; scared shitless._

" _Jesse, what's going on?," Beca asked; dreading the answer. In the pit of her stomach she knew the truth._

" _It's here," Jesse said grabbing Beca to him. "The Government was lying, or trying to be optimistic, or I don't know, but the virus that's been wiping out most of Europe and Asia is here. In the United States. People are becoming infected and it's bad, Beca. It's really bad."_

" _You mean it's here at Barden?," Aubrey asked as all the girls gasp._

" _Come on, Amy," Bumper screamed. "We have to go. Now!"_

 _Bumper started dragging Amy towards the door. Jesse and Donald ran to intercept him._

" _Wait!," Donald yelled. "We need to stick together. We can protect each other."_

" _No," a younger Treble who Beca really never met yelled. "I have to find my girlfriend." Before anyone could stop him, he had run out the door._

" _We can't stay here," Bumper was now crying and flailing his arms, unable to get control of himself._

" _Bumper," Amy had said putting her hands on his face to get him to look at her. "Calm down. Donald is right. We need to stick together. Work out a plan or something." Bumper had seemed to calm down and Amy looked at Jesse. "What have you heard?"_

" _It's all along the East Coast," Jesse said. "And, it's spreading fast. There are some reports that it will hit the West Coast within two weeks."_

 _Beca looked at Jesse with dread, as she asked, "What about Atlanta?" A chill filled the room as Jesse silently nodded._

" _We need to get the supplies we've been gathering, and get them loaded on the bus," Chloe said as she stepped forward. "Jesse, can you guys get to the Trebles bus?"_

" _I think so," Jesse said. "I'll take Donald and we'll bring it out front."_

" _No," Beca said holding onto Jesse. "Why does it have to be you?"_

" _Beca," Jesse answered as he pulled Beca away from the group. "I love you, Beca, and I want to make sure you're safe. So, you you need to stay here with Chloe and the rest of the girls. Keep them calm and help protect them. If we're not back in 30 minutes, then you guys need to come up with a Plan B. Okay?"_

 _Beca just nodded, then glanced over her shoulder at Chloe. The redhead was looking back at her with a face laced with fear and concern._

" _Okay," Beca said and gave Jesse a quick hug. "You guys hurry and be careful."_

" _Donald and I are the fastest ones here," Jesse said with his boyish grin. "We'll be back in no time."_

" _Wait! We should have someone get the Bellas bus," Aubrey said. "We can carry more supplies if we use both of them."_

" _She's right," Donald agreed._

" _I'll go," Amy volunteered._

" _No, Amy," Bumper whined, his voice filled with fear. "Stay here with me."_

" _You can go with me," Amy replied. "We can protect each other."_

" _Come on, Amy," Jesse said. "We'll get you to your bus and then you can drive us to the Trebles bus."_

" _Good idea," Donald said. "Let's go." The three made their way to the door. "Wait!," Bumper yelled just before they reached it, and ran to catch up with them. Jesse stopped at the door to allow the former Treble Captain to catch up, then opened it slowly before he led the small group out._

" _Come on, guys," Chloe said. "Let's look around and see if we can find something to use as weapons."_

" _Let's also pair up and keep an eye out," Aubrey had suggested. "We don't know if any of them have managed to find their way onto campus. Emily, you come with me." Emily had nodded and went with Aubrey to the area behind the stage. The other girls paired up and began searching as well._

 _Of course Chloe and Beca were together and found themselves in a small office off the side of the stage. "I'm taking this," Beca volunteered as she pulled out a bottle of whiskey she discovered in a desk drawer._

" _Beca?," Chloe said softly from beside the young brunette._

" _What's wrong, Chlo?," Beca asked. Chloe looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Chlo?"_

 _Chloe doesn't say anything. She had turned towards the petite brunette and pulled the younger girl to her, smashing their lips together in an emotional kiss. Beca was shocked at first, but after a couple of heartbeats she returned the kiss. Of course those heartbeats had sped up dramatically._

 _When the two best friends had pulled back, they had just looked at each other._

" _I just had to do that once," Chloe said breaking the silence. "I know you're with Jesse, but I'm afraid I won't get another chance to let you know how I feel about you."_

" _When we get somewhere safe," Beca said. "We need to-"_

" _Guys! Guys!," Aubrey had yelled, interrupting them. "Come on. Amy's back with the bus."_

 _Whatever Beca had started to say was forgotten as they grabbed up what they had gathered and joined the others. They all rushed to the bus and drove off to the Bellas house. There was an eerie calm about the campus. In the distance they could hear the sounds of chaos; sirens from police cars and emergency response vehicles, car horns, emergency warning sirens, and even faint screams. Each woman felt the tension rise._

 _They had arrived at the Bella's house without incident, and the girls had rushed in to gather all the non-perishable food they had been hoarding. As they continue to carry boxes outside to the bus, the sounds of chaos can be heard ever closer. Just as they finished loading everything into the bus, the tornado warning sirens began to blair all around. Each woman stood frozen, just knowing something bad was coming_

 _Amy had shouted for the Bellas to get in, and then drove them all to the Treble house; and to chaos._

 _As they arrived they could see some of the Trebles were on the front lawn fighting with some things that could only be described as zombie-like humans._

" _What's wrong with them?," Beca asked._

 _This was the girls first sighting of them and they were all shocked at how sickly they looked. Their complexions were an ashy-gray, like someone who has been sick for a long time. But the thing that really shocked Beca was their eyes. They were all milky white and made them look less than human._

 _After staring for a moment, the girls start to run off the bus but Lily blocked their way._

" _Move, Lily!," Beca yelled. Suddenly the zombies stop attacking the Trebles and lean their heads as if listening for something. Lily puts her finger to her lips to get them all to be quiet._

" _I've been watching them," Lily whispered. "They can't see. But they can hear."_

" _Then why aren't they attacking the bus?," Cynthia Rose asked quietly. "The engine is running."_

" _I don't know," Lily said. "I think it has something to do with frequencies. The engine is a low hum so it doesn't seem to affect them."_

 _They hear groans coming from some of the Trebles. The zombies hear them as well and suddenly are attacking them again. Beca sees Donald and Jesse coming out of the Treble house. She quickly pulls out her phone and sends a text to Jesse. He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and reads Beca's text. He looks up at the bus and sees Beca looking at him He nods his head to let her know he understood. He slowly starts moving away from the attack and gets Donald's attention, putting his finger to his lips and showing him Beca's text._

 _They manage to get past the zombies and get to their bus. They wave at the girls to let them know they're okay._

" _Where's Bumper?," Amy asked and jumped up and is out the door before anyone can stop her. "Bumper!," Amy yelled. "Where are you?"_

" _Amy," Stacie yelled and goes after the Aussie._

" _No, Stacie," Aubrey yelled attempting to push past Chloe and Beca._

" _Brey, you can't," Chloe said holding Aubrey back._

" _I'll get them," Beca said and runs off the bus._

" _Beca, get back here," Chloe yelled, reaching for her._

" _We're all going to die," Ashley yelled and jumps into the driver's seat. She throws the bus into drive and hits the gas. The bus takes off knocking the rest of the girls to the ground. They all get up yelling at Ashley to stop but she is too scared and keeps her foot on the gas._

 _Jesse and Donald see Beca and Stacie moving quietly trying to get to Amy. The zombies stop their attack on the Trebles to listen. Amy yells for Bumper again causing the horde to turn toward her. Beca is set to run after the Aussie but is suddenly grabbed from behind and a hand is clamped over her mouth. She is being pulled backwards and realizes that Jesse has her. She looks over and Donald has Stacie. The two Trebles get the girls on to their bus and Donald gets behind the wheel and takes off._

 _Beca and Stacie are both crying after seeing Amy attacked by the zombies. They calm down after about ten minutes and Beca starts to panic._

" _Where are the Bellas?," Beca asked._

" _We don't know," Jesse told her. "They took off right after you and Stacie got off the bus."_

" _Chloe," Beca said softly._

" _Aubrey," Stacie said softly._

 _The small group searched for their friends but never did find them. They presumed they were all dead now or had become one of the zombies. The first week after that day, Jesse held Beca as she cried almost every night for the friends she had lost. The group stayed together and Donald brought them to his uncle's cabin. He had hoped to find some of his family there but it was empty. The cabin was stocked with canned goods and dried foods to last them a few months. After three months in the cabin they decided to go into town to get more supplies._

 _The bus broke down and Donald was able to steer it into a gas station. They had been lucky to find a pickup truck with a full tank of gas and the keys on the floorboards. They loaded as much stuff from the gas station they could, including some gas cans filled with gas. They had found a grocery store and had just finished loading the last bit they could fit on the truck when the zombies found them. There was a group of about 10 of the things and Jesse jumped into the driver's seat of the truck. Beca and Stacie ran to get into the passenger side. Beca and Stacie were yelling at Donald to hurry up. Beca got in and just as Stacie reached the door one of the zombies grabbed her. It was Beca and Stacie screaming that seemed to set them off. Donald grabbed the zombie and Stacie made it into the truck._

" _Get out of here!," Donald yelled to Jesse as the zombies attacked. Donald continued screaming to keep the zombies focused on him._

 _Jesse took one look at his friend and he knew it was too late for him. He hit the gas and sped away. They all made the ride to the cabin in somber silence. After that, Jesse would go into town on his own to get a few supplies when they needed it. It had been a while since his last trip and now they were desperately low on food._

"You ready, Becs?" Jesse asks causing Beca to jerk back to the present.

"Yeah," Beca says. "Let's go."

Jesse gets behind the wheel of the pickup truck and starts it up. They sit and look around to see if the noise attracts any of the zombies. After five minutes and no zombies, Jesse starts driving and they make their way to the small town that's about twenty minutes from the cabin. All three occupants of the truck are constantly looking around to ensure there are no unwanted visitors. Jesse heads to the grocery store and pulls into the parking lot. He parks up next to the doors so they can load the truck and make a quick escape if necessary.

The truck is loaded with more canned foods and dry goods like flour and sugar. They opt to stop at a mall to find some shoes and protective clothing since the weather tends to get a little cooler now. They are on their way to the mall when Stacie sits up.

"Oh, my God," Stacie says. "It's almost Thanksgiving. We need to do something to celebrate."

"Like what?," Beca asks. "Not like there's a lot to be thankful for."

"We're still alive," Jesse says. "That's something."

"Is it?," Beca asks leaving her two companions silent.

They get to the mall and go in taking extra precautions to make as little noise as possible, just in case. They have determined that most of the higher pitched sounds attract the zombies, while mundane constant noises, like the hum of an engine or whirring of a fan don't seem to affect them.

Jesse has taken a stack of clothing and shoes and loaded them in the truck when he hears a loud noise like some kind of alarm. He rushes back into the mall to find Beca and Stacie. They heard the noise and are scanning all directions trying to determine where it was coming from and what it is going to bring down on them.

"We need to get to the truck," Jesse whispers.

"Shit," Beca says and points to the door leading to where the truck is parked. They all look down and see four of the zombies coming into the mall.

"Come with me," Jesse said and quietly leads the girls to a sporting goods store. They go in and he heads towards the guns. "This is our only hope."

The guns are in cases but not locked up. He grabs a couple of rifles and finds the ammo. He loads the rifles and hands one to each of the girls. The alarm had stopped and they knew that meant the zombies would still be around the entrance, waiting for noise to set them off again.

"Just point at their heads and pull the trigger," Jesse tells them. "We need to all hit at least one and then I'll take care of the last one. Hopefully, that's all we'll have to deal with. Once the last one is down, run like hell to the truck. The gunshots will probably attract more."

The girls hold the rifles at the ready and head back to where they saw the zombies. They are standing a few feet inside the door, listening.

"I'll take the one on the left," Jesse says. "Stacie you take the one on the right. Beca just take out one of the ones in the middle. As soon as I fire my shot I'm going to run down so I can get the fourth one. Okay?"

Both girls nod and Jesse raises his rifle. He fires and almost simultaneously Beca and Stacie fire. Jesse runs down the escalator and raises his rifle at the fourth zombie. He goes pulls the trigger and is attacked by another zombie that comes from somewhere behind him.

"Jesse!," Beca yells. She sees Jesse fighting with the zombie and it looks like he gets bitten. "No, no, no," Beca is screaming as she runs down the stairs to help Jesse.

Before she can reach him she sees the zombie suddenly fall over. There is an arrow in his head and he topples on top of Jesse. Beca runs to Jesse.

"Get Stacie and get out of here, Becs," Jesse tells her holding his shoulder. He shoves the zombie off himself and Beca sees that he has several bites on his shoulder and upper arm. "GO! Now!"

Beca has tears in her eyes and Stacie is grabbing her and pulling her toward the exit to the truck. Beca struggles to get away from Stacie.

"No, Stacie," Beca cries. "We can't leave him."

"Get her out of here," Jesse growled to Stacie.

The alarm goes off again but stops after a few seconds. It was enough to get Stacie moving again. She picks Beca up by the waist and starts carrying her out of the mall. Suddenly, another zombie is charging at them, attracted by Beca's screaming. Stacie and Beca both stop when the creature is felled by an arrow through the head. They both look to see where the arrow came from.

"Chloe?," Beca whispers.

A growling noise causes Beca and Stacie to look toward the sound. Jesse is changing and Beca lets out a sob. The bites must be deep for him to be changing already. Chloe runs down the stairs to the two girls. Close behind her is Cynthia Rose.

"Beca!," Chloe cries and grabs her into a hug. Tears are streaming down her face. "I thought you were dead."

Stacie grabs Cynthia Rose and hugs her. They hold on to each other and neither seems to want to let go.

Beca hugs Chloe back as tears stream down her face. They hear another growl come from Jesse and Chloe pushes Beca behind her. She looks at Jesse.

"I'm sorry, Beca," Chloe says sadly. "He's turning. We have to-"

"I'll do it," Beca says interrupting her. "I made a promise."

"Beca you don't have to," Cynthia Rose says. "I'll do it."

"No," Beca says choking back another sob. "We promised each other that we wouldn't let the other become one of them." Beca wipes her eyes and puts her hand out toward Stacie. "Give me your gun, Stacie."

"No, Beca," Chloe says stopping her. "Use this." She puts her hand out for CR's crossbow and passes it over to Beca. "It doesn't make noise to attract the creatures. Just aim at his head."

Beca nods her head and takes the crossbow and arrow. She inserts the arrow and pulls back the bow string until it is notched. She then looks at Jesse. He looks back at her with tears in his eyes and growls, "Do it, Beca. You promised."

Beca can barely see through the tears as she lifts the crossbow. She looks Jesse in the eye and says, "I'm sorry" as she pulls the trigger and the arrow flies the short distance to him. Beca drops the crossbow as she starts to fall to the floor. Chloe catches her and eases her down. She holds her while she cries.

The alarm goes off again and the girls all look around.

"Becs," Chloe says quietly. "We need to get out of here. There will be more coming shortly and we need to go."

"We have a truck with supplies outside," Stacie tells them. "Let's go."

Chloe pulls Beca up and Cynthia Rose picks up the crossbow. The all hurry out to the truck.

"Stacie, I'll drive," Cynthia Rose says. "The other girls will be waiting for us. You'll be safe, I promise."

"Other girls?," Stacie asks.

"Yeah," Cynthia Rose replies. "Aubrey and Emily. We lost Jessica and Ashley after only a month. Lily was with us for about seven months and we're not sure what happened to her. She just was gone one day."

"Aubrey?," Stacie whispers.

"Let's get out of here," Chloe answers solemnly. Stacie helps Chloe get Beca into the truck and squeezes in by the door. Cynthia Rose gets behind the wheel and takes off. Beca has gone quiet and just sits there, staring at nothing through the windshield.

* * *

 **I want to give a shout out and thanks to RJRMovieFan for looking at my story and bouncing ideas back and forth with me. Thanks for having my back!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** **I'm going to try and keep a regular posting schedule with this story. So, I'll be posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Thanks for reading.**

 **Thank so much for the reviews, faves, and follows! You guys are awesome.**

 **To Lasleonas007: I honestly started writing this fic before I ever saw any previews for "A Quiet Place." It was just something that I was thinking about and decided to write. When I did see the previews, I almost changed my story but decided to just stick with it. I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

* * *

Cynthia Rose drives the truck at a breakneck pace for about ten minutes as she heads out of town. They see a number of the Sightless _,_ but once out of town, they seem to be clear of them.

The mood is quiet in the truck's cab, no one says anything as Cynthia Rose pulls up to a diner that is sitting in what looks like the middle of nowhere. She parks right next to the front door and turns off the truck.

Stacie looks up to see two faces looking out at them through the diner's window. She and Cynthia Rose get out of the truck and there is a flurry of activity as both girls come running out the door of the diner.

"Stacie!," Aubrey cries, practically tackling the leggy brunette. "Is Beca with you? What about Jesse and Donald?"

Emily joins Aubrey in hugging Stacie. Stacie hugs them both with all her might and just holds the two women for a minute or two before she responds.

"Beca's still in the truck with Chloe," Stacie replied. "Let's go inside and give her a minute."

The two girls look at Stacie. "I'll tell you inside."

Chloe watched the reunion through the windshield. She smiles gently as Stacie goes into the diner with the other three women. She then focuses on Beca, who is still just staring blankly out the windshield.

"You had to do it, Becs," Chloe said softly. "He wouldn't have wanted to become one of those things."

Beca finally turns to Chloe. "I know," she replies. "It's kind of bittersweet, you know? I had to kill my best friend and find out my other, um, best friend, that I thought was dead, is alive." She pauses with a tear in her eye. "God, I've missed you."

Beca lets out a sob and Chloe gathers her in her arms. Tears flow freely down their faces, tears Beca thought she didn't have anymore. They stay in the truck just holding each other for a long time. Each needing to just hold the other, fearing if they let go, that person might vanish. Each holding on and feeling just the slightest bit of serenity in this tumultuous world.

Inside the diner, Stacie is finishing telling the other girls what had happened with Donald and then Jesse.

"Wow, that's harsh," Emily said remorsefully. "I hope Beca's strong enough to handle it."

"She is," Stacie said, with a hint of anger in her voice. "We didn't make it these past nine months because she couldn't handle things."

"Easy there, tiger," Aubrey soothes, putting up her hands. "Em didn't mean anything by it. She's just worried about whether Beca was mentally strong enough. It couldn't have been easy for her."

"She did what she had to do," Cynthia Rose said sadly. "We've all been there." The three girls get lost in their heads, thinking about all that they have lost and what they've done to survive. "We just have to be here for her."

Just then Beca comes in with Chloe behind her.

"Hey, losers," Beca saids in greeting, trying to put a brave face on. The girls all smile and grab each other and hug. "Okay, enough of this mushy stuff," Beca said. "Does this diner have any food to eat?"

"It sure does," Chloe said, a slight spring in her step. She knows Beca is putting on a brave face so she wants to help her friend in anyway she can. She also knows that food had always been a comfort for the petite ball of grumpiness. "It's got a freezer and it was fully stocked when we found the place. Everything's working so we've been eating pretty well."

"We've got a truckload of canned goods and stuff," Stacie said. "Maybe we should bring it in here and we can fix some soup or something. It's almost lunch time."

Emily and Chloe stand watch as the others unload the truck. Once they got everything inside they start looking through the boxes.

"Sugar, flour," Cynthia Rose said as she pulls each item out. "Canned peaches. I'm definitely making us a peach cobbler tonight."

"Don't you need eggs and milk for that?," Stacie asks, skepticism clear in the question.

"There's a farm about a half a mile from here," Emily tells her. "There are a couple of cows and chickens that we've been taking care of. They've been providing us with eggs and milk almost every day. Plus we have powdered milk and eggs if we need it. They're not as good, but they do in a pinch."

"I'll heat up a couple of cans of soup while I make the cobbler," Cynthia Rose volunteers.

"Okay, then," Stacie replies with a laugh. "Can I help make dinner?"

"It's my turn to cook," Emily answers. "We're just having some burgers and fries. We usually make our own bread so if you want a bun for your burger, we got you covered."

"Wow," Beca said. "You guys have a pretty good set up here. We've been staying in a cabin about twenty minutes from town, up in the hills. It belonged to Donald's uncle. We've been lucky and haven't seen any zombies around the cabin. The only time we've seen them is when we had to run into town to restock our supplies."

"Have you guys learned anything?," Aubrey asks. "About what happened? About the Sightless?"

"The what?," Beca asks.

Chloe shrugs. "We started calling those things the Sightless. Kinda like how they called them Walkers on that popular show."

"It fits," Beca said. "I'm afraid we don't know much about the, um, Sightless."

"It's been awhile since we heard anything," Stacie said. "But last thing we heard was that about 90 percent of the U.S. population was wiped out by the virus. I don't know how it originally was spread, but we've figured out that it seems to transfer through the saliva once the infected person has turned into whatever they are. One bite and you become one of them. It usually takes a few days from what we've seen. We only know this because I've been scratched by those things and nothing happened. Donald was bitten and he yelled for us to leave him. We assumed he changed or died because we haven't seen him again. And, Jesse changed really fast, so his bites must have been really deep."

Beca looks down at her lap. Chloe puts her arm around Beca's shoulder and pulls her close.

"We're really sorry, Beca," Chloe tells her and kisses her head.

"It's the times we live in," Beca said with a sad shrug. "We all know that everyday is a possibility that it could happen to us."

"Doesn't make it any easier," Emily said softly.

The girls sit quietly for a few minutes before Beca suddenly breaks the silence. "Wait," she said looking at Emily. "You said it was your turn to cook. Does that mean you all take turns cooking? _**All**_ of you?" She is now looking at Chloe with a raised eyebrow.

Chloe catches on to what she is saying and slaps her on the arm. "I'll have you know I can cook. And fairly well if I do say so myself."

The other girls laugh, knowing that, of all the Bellas, Chloe had been the worst cook.

"She can hold her own," Aubrey said. She smiles and adds, "Barely." Chloe scowls at the blonde. Aubrey just laughs. "It took some time, but she's actually come a long way."

They sit around discussing some other things they have experienced in the nine months since the world as they knew it ended.

"There seems to be power in town," Chloe said. "And in the surrounding areas. We've been lucky. The freezer works so we've actually had meat and frozen vegetables to eat since we found this place. We've been here almost two months now."

"We have some canned goods," Cynthia Rose adds, "But we have to carry everything we get from town on our backs, so we haven't been able to stock up like you guys did."

"What did you do before?," Beca asks. "I mean, before you found this place.

"We moved around afraid to stay in one place for too long," Aubrey responds. "We found this place and stayed because Chloe and Emily both got sick and couldn't really travel. We basically went everywhere on foot since we crashed the Bellas bus. We knew the Sightless were attracted to noise so we decided not to use another vehicle."

"Are you guys okay now?," Beca asks, looking at Chloe and Emily with concern.

"Yeah," Chloe answers with a smile. "We both got really bad colds and were miserable for a few weeks. Cyn found this place and we set up house so to speak." She points to Cynthia Rose and Aubrey. "Those two took turns and basically stayed awake for three straight days to make sure none of those zombies or whatever would get us."

"The Sightless basically stay away," Cynthia Rose said. "We've seen a few here and there, but none of them even seem to know we're here. We can turn the lights on at night because they can't see them. The place is pretty soundproof so no noise can be heard outside. The only time we have to be really careful is when we go to the farm. The cows and chickens make a lot of noise, but they're kept in a barn and the Sightless haven't gotten to them yet. I don't know how or why they can't, but there are still two cows and a half a dozen chickens there."

"It's weird," Emily said thoughtfully. "In all the zombie movies I've ever seen, the power is always gone, the zombies attack everyone, and they tear places up. This is not like that. We have power, this place and every place in town is still standing. It's kind of surreal in a way."

"I know what you mean," Beca said. "A few months ago we went into town and we saw a group of maybe a dozen of those things and they were just standing there. Their skin looking all ashen and gray, their eyes like milky white." Beca shudders at the memory. "They had their heads tilted to the side like they were listening for a sound, any sound so they could move again. We probably could have walked right up to them and they wouldn't have known we were there." Beca shudders again as she sees Jesse's eyes changing in her mind. "Their eyes kind of freak me out."

"We noticed that constant, steady sounds, like the hum of our truck engine doesn't seem to affect them," Stacie informs their friends. "Groans, screams, I guess more high-pitch or random noises drive them crazy and they attack whatever is making the noise."

"I almost forgot," Chloe said and pulls something out of her pocket. "I found this flyer while I was in town." Chloe showed it to the girls. It is handwritten and gives an address to a high school that it claims is a 'safe zone.' "The high school is located on the other side of town. I thought we should check it out tomorrow."

The girls all look around. Going into town is always fraught with danger. Still the chance at safety is too great. They all agree that it is a good idea to check things out.

"Can we make a side trip to the cabin?," Beca asks. "We have more weapons and some supplies there. I mean, that is, if you guys are okay with us joining up with you."

"Of course you can join up with us," Chloe said. "I'm surprised you even feel the need to ask. Bellas for life, remember?"

Beca and Stacie smile. "Bellas for life," they repeat. Chloe smiles brightly.

Aubrey gives Beca and Stacie the 'grand tour' of the diner. She shows them where they could sleep and where they keep water. There is an office that has a full bath, complete with shower.

"Do you have hot water?," Stacie asks, the prospect of a decent hot shower exciting her.

"Both the hot and cold water taps work," Aubrey tells them. "We don't know if there's anything wrong with the water, but so far we haven't had any issues."

"There is a small lake behind the cabin," Stacie tells Aubrey. "I think the cabin's water comes from it and we didn't have any problems with it either. Well, except the water only got lukewarm for some reason. Plus, we were able to catch some fish. None of us had any problems when we ate the fish."

"That's good to know," Aubrey replies.

After getting the fifty cent tour, the girls rejoin the others.

"What do you guys do all day?," Stacie asks. "We played board games and cards most of the time."

"We just play cards," Chloe replies. "And talk, prepare meals." She looks over at her bow and quiver. "Oh, I make arrows." The redhead is a bit proud of that.

"You make arrows?," Beca asks, quite shocked at this revelation.

"Yeah," she replies a bit defensively. "I learned in the Girl Scouts."

Beca smirks at the redhead, who finally asks, "What?"

"I just didn't know you were a regular Katniss Everdeen," Beca said, teasing just a little bit.

"You're closer to the truth than you might know," Cynthia said.

"Yeah," Emily adds, with a bit of awe. "She saved me once by putting an arrow through the creature's eye."

Beca looks at the redhead in a whole new light. Chloe feels uncomfortable with all this attention.

"So you have things at your cabin, you think we might use?," she said changing subject and taking attention away from her.

"Yeah," Beca nods. "I can go to the cabin now and get the weapons, the games, and all of our supplies. We also have beds there so we can bring the mattresses to lay on."

"Oh, my God," Emily practically squeals. "Yes! Let's get the mattresses. I'll go with you to help."

"I'll go, too," Chloe said with a laugh. "It would be nice to sleep on a real mattress."

"Me, too," Cynthia Rose agrees. "I'd like to see something besides this diner and the town."

"Stacie," Beca said turning to the brunette. "Are you okay to stay here with just you and Aubrey?"

"I think we'll be fine," Stacie answers with a wink at Aubrey, causing her to blush.

"Um, you might want to go now so you can be back before dark," Aubrey said.

"Brey's right," Chloe said. "Let's go."

Beca, Chloe, Emily, and CR, head out for the truck. Once they were gone, Stacie looks at Aubrey and gives her a smile.

"I've missed you so much," Stacie said.

"I've missed you, too," Aubrey said. "I feel like I'm living in a dream or a nightmare. I made myself come to terms with the fact that I was never going to see you again."

"Same here," Stacie said. "Would you please kiss me so I know this is real."

Aubrey closes the distance and gives Stacie a tender and needy kiss.

 ***0*0*0*0***

The drive to the cabin is uneventful. Emily and Cynthia Rose opt to sit in the bed of the truck while Chloe sat up front with Beca. Chloe moves over so she is sitting next to Beca. She places her head on Beca's shoulder causing the brunette to look down at her and smile.

"I missed you so much," Chloe whispers and wipes a tear from her eye. "We thought for sure you were all dead."

"We thought the same," Beca replies quietly. "Do you remember the last time we saw each other? The day it all happened for us?"

"I remember everything about that day," Chloe said. "I think everyone remembers where they were, what they were doing."

"Do you know what I remember the most about that day?," Beca asks.

"What?," Chloe asks, truly curious.

"You kissing me," Beca replies and glances at Chloe. "That's what I remember about that day because it was something I had been wanting for a while."

"Really?," Chloe said. "But you were with. . ."

"We had actually broken up around Christmas," Beca tells her. "He knew that I had feelings for you. He was just a great guy about it all. That day, when you kissed me, I was going to tell you about the breakup but Aubrey yelled that Amy was there with the bus. Then we got separated." Beca lets out a heavy sigh. Chloe lays her head back down on Beca's shoulder and smiles.

They arrive at the cabin and the four girls look around to make sure they are alone before getting out of the truck. Beca leads them inside and Emily immediately goes to one of the bedrooms.

"Oh, my word," they can hear Emily moan. "This mattress is like laying on a cloud."

"Get up," Cynthia Rose tells Emily, laughing as she enters the room. "Can't put it on the truck if you're laying on it." Emily sighs and gets up. She and Cynthia Rose grab the mattress, sheets and all, and carry it out to the truck.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Once they have everything they can fit on the truck, Beca gets behind the wheel. Chloe is now squished up against Beca since Emily and Cynthia Rose are in the front with them. Chloe puts her head on Beca's shoulder and lays hand so it is resting on Beca's thigh. Beca's breath only catches a little.

That evening, as the girls finish their dinner, Cynthia Rose brings out the peach cobbler she made. There's a general shout of approval from all and for a moment they all are able to forget. The girls dig in and are humming with satisfaction.

"Oh, my gosh," Emily said smiling. "CR, this is the best cobbler ever. This sure has been a great day." She suddenly blushes and looks at Beca. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean. I meant finding you guys and being able to have a mattress to sleep on, and the peach cobbler. It's-"

"It's okay, Em," Beca assures the young girl. "All in all, it truly has been a great day." Stacie doesn't miss the look Beca is giving Chloe and that Chloe is giving Beca. Aubrey notices too and they both smile at each other. Yes, generally speaking, this truly has been a great day.

A few hours later, Beca yawns and asks about sleeping arrangements.

"We have mats with blankets and pillows we usually use," Chloe tells her. "But now we have the three mattresses, so who's using what?"

"Aubrey and I can share a mattress," Stacie chimes in. Aubrey blushes but nods her head.

"I can share a mattress with Emily," Cynthia Rose volunteers. "Because I have a feeling shorty over there wouldn't be too thrilled if Emily or I said we would share with Chloe."

Beca glares at her and Chloe lets out a laugh.

"Come on, Becs. You know want to cuddle up with all this," Chloe said, waving her hand up and down her body. The other girls all laugh.

"I'm kinda hating you all right now," Beca gripes, causing the girls to laugh even harder.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Beca wakes up the next morning when she feels someone moving beside her. She finds a face full of red hair when she opens her eyes. She pulls back and realizes she is spooning Chloe and she likes it. She smiles and tightens her arm around Chloe's waist and sighs.

Chloe feels Beca move behind and smiles when she hears her sigh. "Come on, Becs. Time to rise and shine."

"Nooooo," Beca whines. "I'm way too comfortable to want to get up."

"Too bad," Aubrey said. "We need to get breakfast and then go check out that school from the flyer Chloe found yesterday. I'll start the coffee. Chloe it's your turn to make breakfast."

"I'm on it," Chloe said. She laughs as Beca tightens her hold. She looks over her shoulder and whispers, "Come on, Becs, we can cuddle more tonight."

"Fine," Beca huffs, letting Chloe go.

The girls each get breakfast and then finish getting ready for the day. Each at some point is struck by how 'normal' it now is to get ready for life after the apocalypse. They gather their personal weapons, making sure they are properly secured or loaded. Once everyone is ready, they head out to the truck.

On the road, Chloe's driving since she knows the area better than anyone, having walked most of the area the past two months. Beca is sitting in the middle and Cynthia Rose by the passenger door. Aubrey, Stacie, and Emily are riding in the bed of the truck. They all have weapons at the ready if needed.

It's eerily quiet, as if the world itself doesn't want the Sightlessto notice it. Chloe is reminded of the old western movies, where you would see a tumbleweed blowing through the town. No tumbleweeds, but lots of dry leaves and scraps of paper. She's kind of surprised how dirty everything is, and how overgrown. It's like nature is reclaiming the town.

In relatively short order they arrive at the school and find it eerily quiet. Each woman tenses, gripping their respective weapon a little tighter.

"From the flyer I thought there might actually be people milling around," Cynthia Rose said warily.

"Yeah," Chloe said looking around the area. "Me, too."

The girls all get out of the truck cautiously, weapons ready. "Look sharp everyone," Chloe said softly. "I don't like the feel of this place."

"Let's stick together," Aubrey suggests. "Any sign of trouble, we hightail it back to the truck and get the hell out of here." The other girls nod in agreement.

Chloe keeps her arrow notched in her bow, both hands ready at a second's notice. She's actually grown quite skilled at drawing, aiming, and releasing, in under a second.

She leads the group to the front door of the school and stops. They look through the glass panes and don't see any signs of life or zombies. Aubrey points out what appear to be a couple of bodies in the hall. She grabs the door handle and Chloe nods her head. Aubrey pulls the door open, surprised when it doesn't make much noise at all.

The smell hit them like a wall. It's bad, it's really bad, almost putrid. Emily and Beca both wretch and gag, fighting back the bile that rises in their throats. They all pull their shirts up to cover their mouth and noses. Chloe pulls a bandana from her pocket and wraps it around her nose and mouth and then pulls her shirt up to cover her mouth and chin.

When they are ready, Chloe goes in first, followed closely by Beca, Emily, Cynthia Rose, Stacie, and then Aubrey. They spread out across the hall and look in every direction they can as they move slowly, inching down the hall together as one.

There smell in the air grows worse, a rotting mustiness, and something more, like sick decay. There's also a weird buzzing.

"Those doors look like they may lead to a cafeteria or the gym," Chloe said, gesturing with her bow. "We should check it out."

The make their way to the doors and Stacie looks through the small window in the door. "It looks like the cafeteria," Stacie says. There's something in her voice that says there's more. Emily looks in as well and puts her hand to her mouth and jerks back.

"What's wrong?," Aubrey asks the young girl. "What did you see?"

"It's not good," Stacie said sadly. "It's nothing but bodies. Maybe 30-40. They're not zombies though. It looks like they're just dead bodies."

Aubrey looks through the window and is shocked by what she sees. "We need to check it out," Aubrey sighs. "See if there is anyone alive in there. It's unlikely, but we should still check." No one looks happy, but everyone nods, knowing the blonde is right.

Aubrey and Stacie open the door. Chloe, Beca, and Emily go off to the left; Stacie, Aubrey, and Cynthia Rose go to their right. They look at the bodies and Aubrey notices something. She bends down and checks one of the bodies. This was not the body of someone who was attacked by the Sightless. This person looks like it was slashed or cut with some sort of sharp blade. They started checking more of the bodies and find them all to have similar looking wounds.

Chloe turns over one body and lets out a sob. There is a smaller body under what she presumes was the mother's body. Tears begin to fall from her eyes and she runs out of the cafeteria. Beca chases after her and finds her leaning against the wall, using her bandana to wipe tears from her face.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said softly. "I've seen a lot of bad stuff in the past nine months, but seeing kids is just too much."

Beca just holds her and lets her cry it out. The other girls come out, faces grief stricken by what they just saw. Chloe pulls herself together and stands up.

"Let's check out the rest of the school," Aubrey said. "See what else is here."

They make their way through the school, coming across more bodies. Each looking like they had been killed in the same manner as those in the cafeteria.

They all jump when the fire alarm starts blaring

"Shit," Chloe said. "We have to get out of here. Run!"

* * *

 **I'm going to put it out there and say thanks to RJRMovieFant for collaborating with me on this story. He's helping make this better with some edits and suggestions so I am now calling it what it is - a collaboration.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just want to say thanks to all of your for the reviews, follows, and faves. Also, a special thanks to my good friend RJRMovieFan for his awesome additions to this story.**

* * *

The girls follow Chloe's lead and start running back to the front of the school. Chloe is ahead of them with her bow ready, arrow notched. Beca finds herself surprisingly impressed with how Chloe handles the weapon. The redhead comes to a sudden stop when they get to the main hallway. With eyes widened, and fear clearly reflected, she raises a hand to stop them from coming around the corner, and then ever so slowly walks back to rejoin her friends. The alarm is still ringing so she puts up her right hand and flashes five fingers twice in quick succession, trying to convey to the others that there are ten of the Sightless in the hallway ahead.

Beca hugs the wall and eases her head around the corner to see what they are doing. They are all centered in one area and it looks like they are trying to climb the walls. She looks up and notices that the alarm bell is located just above them near the ceiling. It appears they are trying to get to it to stop the noise.

Beca pulls back and motions for the girls to follow her. She continues to hug the opposite wall from the Sightless and slowly makes her way towards the front door. The other girls are close behind. They each have one eye on the zombies and the other on their surroundings, just in case. Suddenly they freeze as there's an eerie screech, and then another, and another, until all ten of the Sightless are shrieking at earsplitting levels. They seem to be screeching at the alarm.

All the Bellas have their weapons ready and quietly turn as one to face the threat. They needn't have worried because the Sightless still don't seem to know they are there. Each woman feels her heart begin to beat again and, with careful steps, they all start moving toward the door. Aubrey takes the lead and slowly pushes the door open, ever so slowly, to minimize any potential noise.

From outside a Sightless is running for the door, directly at her. The noise of the alarm seems to spur it on to greater speed. Aubrey freezes, arm down, gun not ready. The creature is only a dozen feet away and will be upon her in a second. Before anyone can react Chloe releases her arrow and it catches the zombie just beneath its left eye; not five feet from Aubrey. The force of the arrow actually lifting the Sightless creature off the ground and back a foot before it crumpled to the ground.

Stacie is instantly at Aubrey's side, hand on the back of the blonde who is trying to regain the ability to breathe. Beca is in awe of Chloe, who is quite smooth in drawing another arrow and readying her bow while scanning the immediate area. CR and Emily secure the door behind them so none of the Sightless can follow.

Then, as a group, they move away from the former sanctuary. As soon as they are in the clear they check around, knowing the school's alarm is sure to attract more. They see another group of at least twenty of the Sleepless making their way to the school from the opposite direction of the diner. That is all the incentive they need and they scramble to get in the truck. Chloe starts it up as soon as she's behind the wheel and pulls away once she's sure everyone is on board. Driving faster than she usually does, she didn't stop until she had them back at the diner.

"Park around back," Aubrey instructs and Chloe complies. "If there is someone else out there, we don't want them to know we're here."

They all got out of the truck and hurry into the diner. Beca and Stacie immediately went to the front and took up surveillance duty.

"If those people weren't killed by the zombies," Aubrey said. "That means that living humans did it. We haven't seen anyone besides you guys. How did we miss them?"

"I've only walked beyond the strip mall once or twice," Chloe said. "I never saw anyone else."

"Same for us," Beca tells them. "We may have only gone to town a few times but we didn't see anyone. It was just pure luck that we were out when Chloe and Cynthia Rose were."

"From the smell, those bodies could have been there for a while," Stacie said. "The place was air conditioned so it could have preserved them a bit. All that could have happened before you guys found this place."

"You may be right but we shouldn't take any chances," Aubrey said. "From now on, no one goes anywhere alone. No one. We will always go in pairs, even to the farm."

The girls all nod in agreement.

"Maybe we should start having lookouts at night," Chloe suggests. "If there are others out there, and after seeing what we just saw, we need to be more vigilant. Just in case they are out to do more harm than good."

"Oh, shoot," Emily said. "In all the excitement I forgot about this." She pulls some papers out of her pocket. "I found these on the bulletin board just before the alarm went off. It talks about survivor camps on different islands off the East Coast. Maybe we can make it to one of them."

"Let me see that, Em," Beca said holding out her hand toward the younger girl. Emily hands over several sheets of paper and Beca looks at them. The other girls look over her shoulder as she reads them. "She's right. These show several places in North Carolina, South Carolina, and even here in Georgia. We're only about what? A 4 or 5-hour drive from Savannah? We could probably get to Tybee Island or one of the others nearby."

"A survivor camp?," Stacie asks excitedly. "Maybe some of our friends or family are there." Stacie had a hopeful look on her face as she looked around at the other girls.

"Maybe," Beca said, giving Stacie a soft smile. She looks back down at the papers on the table. "We should make a plan on trying to get to one of these places."

"I agree," Chloe said, nodding her head. "I love you girls, but it would be nice to be around some other people."

The girls work out a plan to leave in three days. They want to check out more of the town before they go. Curious to see if they can find anyone else around. They also hope to find a trailer or at least another truck to carry some of their food and supplies to help out the camp.

The girls decide to make it an early night so they can get an early start in the morning. Beca and Chloe take the first watch, promising to wake Stacie and Aubrey in three hours.

Beca sits in a booth in the darkest corner so she can see everything to the left of the diner and Chloe sits so she can see everything off to the right. They sit silently for a while until Chloe asks Beca if she wanted her to make coffee.

"That sounds really good, actually," Beca said.

Beca made sure to keep looking both ways while Chloe was up making the coffee. Chloe comes back and sets a mug in front of Beca. "Two sugars and lots of milk."

"I can't believe you remember how I like my coffee," Beca said taking a sip. "And, it's perfect."

"I remember because I thought you'd be one of those badasses who'd take it strong and black," Chloe said with a playful grin. "The stronger the better."

Beca just smiles and takes another sip of her coffee. They sit and sip their coffee while watching out the window.

"Speaking of badass, when did you become Katniss?," Beca asks Chloe, nodding towards her bow.

Chloe actually blushes and shrugs. " _Girl Scouts_."

"Why am I not surprised you were a _Girl Scout_ ," Beca said with a smirk.

"I really liked it, some of my best summer memories were at camp," the redhead answers a little defensively. "Being a _Girl Scout_ was great."

"I'm sure it was," Beca said with a smirk.

"It was," Chloe grumbles.

"And you learned archery?," Beca asks, deciding not to tease anymore.

"Yeah, I was surprisingly good at it and I really loved the rush of hitting a target from long distances."

"Tell me about it," Beca said, actually quite curious.

"Most of the girls weren't really interested, but I loved Orlando Bloom in the _Lord of the Rings_ , so I was super excited. I remember the instructor guiding me through the steps and then letting the arrow fly for the first time." She sat up, sounding so proud. "I was the only one to hit the target, so I shot again and hit the inner ring. Then on my third arrow, I nailed a bullseye." Chloe was grinning from ear-to-ear at this point. "I actually won a number of blue ribbons for archery competitions," she said quite proudly.

Beca is truly intrigued. "How have I not heard about this until now?," Beca asks, truly confused by this revelation.

The redhead shrugs in answer. "Not much reason to bring it up. It was fifth through eighth grade. By the time I started High School I was mostly done. I had achieved a number of patches and awards. I got busy with school activities and cheerleading, volleyball, and the chorus, of course, so the _Girl Scouts_ faded into the past."

"You missed it though," Beca observes. She can see the wistful look.

"Yeah, there was something about being a part of something that appealed to me, even at an early age. I love the whole ethos of helping others. I learned a whole lot and it was cool to have the uniform," Chloe answers enthusiastically.

Beca just sits there silently enraptured by the redhead. Chloe notices Beca just watching her, and asks, "What?"

Beca shakes herself out of wherever she had just gone and blushes. "Umm, I was just thinking how badass you turned out to be, and…"

"You're picturing me in my _Girl Scout_ uniform, aren't you?"

Beca's blush covers her face. "Maybe…"

"You're adorable," Chloe said with a wink.

"Probably not as adorable as you are in your uniform," Beca counters.

Chloe shakes her head, causing Beca to raise an eyebrow at her. "Not adorable. Totally hot," Chloe said with a husky voice and another wink.

Beca actually blushes more. "You're going to be the death of me." Chloe laughs and Beca loves the sound.

Both women lapse into a comfortable silence. Each dealing with the weird incongruity of being able to tease and flirt, even as they are on guard against monsters in the night, both human and zombie.

"So, what happened with Ashley and Jessica?," Beca quietly asks after a while.

"Ashley just totally freaked out," Chloe tells her. "She was the one that drove us away from you guys that day. We tried to get her to stop but she wouldn't listen. Jessica finally got her to calm down and stop the bus, but by then it was too late. You guys were already gone. We drove around for awhile before we made a plan and decided to drive to Jessica's family's house that was about three hours away. Jessica was driving and there was a group of them on the road. She tried to go around them but the bus got stuck. We would have been fine but Ashley ran off the bus screaming. The screams attracted the Sightless and they came after us. Cyn, Emily, Aubrey, Lily, and I started running and ran into the woods. I looked back and Ashley was just standing there screaming and the Sightless attacked her. Jessica tried to, tried-" Chloe let out a small sob and wipes the tears that had been pouring down her face.

"You can stop," Beca tells her. She moves to sit next to Chloe and takes her in her arms. Chloe clings to Beca and cries. She hadn't really had a chance to mourn because she was trying to stay strong for the others.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said, sniffling. "None of us have really grieved, you know?"

"I get it," Beca said. "Before I had to," Beca stops and swallows. "I cried for about a week after the day it all happened. I cried for Amy. I cried for you, and the rest of the Bellas, thinking you were either dead or one of those things. After that week, I hadn't shed a tear until I had to keep my promise to Jesse."

"I'm so glad we found each other again," Chloe said. "There was a piece of my heart missing and I didn't think it would ever be whole again, until now." She pulls back and looks at Beca.

Beca takes Chloe's face in her hands and uses the pads of the thumbs to wipe away her tears. She leans in and kisses Chloe. Chloe pulls Beca to her and deepens the kiss. They pull apart and Chloe let out a small laugh as she put her forehead to Beca's. They sat like that for a minute or two before Beca pulls back.

"We need to keep watch," Beca said and gives Chloe a quick peck on the lips. Chloe nods her head and Beca moves back over to her original seat. She took Chloe's hand across the table and held it until it was time to wake Aubrey and Stacie for their watch.

 ***0*0*0*0***

CR and Emily woke the others after preparing breakfast for them all. They ate and got dressed for the day.

"I think we should go into town and see if we can find a trailer or another truck to use," Aubrey suggests. "I also think we might want to make a visit to the army surplus to get a little more firepower."

"Aubrey's right," Beca said. "I'll go."

"Me, too," Chloe volunteers. "How about you CR? Want to go with us? You can drive the new truck if we find one."

"I can do that," Cynthia Rose replies.

"The three of us should go to the farm and get eggs and milk," Emily said, looking a Stacie and Aubrey. "We haven't been in a couple of days and I think we need to check on the animals."

"Good idea," Aubrey said and looks at her watch. "It's 8:30 now, so let's plan for everyone to be back here by no later than 11:00?"

"That gives us plenty of time," Beca said. "Sounds like a plan. Chloe? CR? You two ready?"

"Let's go," Chloe said gathering her bow and quiver of arrows.

CR grabs her gun as well as a crossbow and some arrows. Beca grabs her rifle and the three girls do a quick perimeter check as a safety precaution before heading to the truck. Chloe drives and pulls out from behind the diner. She heads to the mall where they found Beca and Stacie. Beca looks out the window at the structure and swallows, remembering her last trip there. She wipes a tear from her eye and Chloe squeezes her leg to comfort her. Chloe pulls up to a different entrance than before and the three girls get out and look around.

"I think we're clear," CR said.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Aubrey and Emily lead Stacie to the farm. They stay along the tree line and look all around before heading to the barn where the animals are enclosed. Emily opens the door and the three girls enter.

"Phew," Stacie said, holding her nose. "Definitely smells like animals."

"You kind of get used to it after a few seconds," Emily tells her. She walks over to the two cows and sets down the two pails she had been carrying. She runs her hand over their sides as she walks between them to get the stool to sit on while milking.

Aubrey takes Stacie's hand and leads her over to the chickens. They are all sitting on their nests lightly clucking. "We have to get them to move so we can get at the eggs," Aubrey said.

"Do we really need to do this?," Stacie asks. "I mean, we are planning to leave in like two days. They won't last."

"We need the eggs for breakfast," Aubrey said. "We still have some milk leftover from our last trip here. We're only going to milk them so their udders aren't full when we leave."

"The plan is to leave the door open so they can leave on their own," Emily tells her. "We think it might be worse on them if we leave them locked up in here. If they can get out, maybe someone else will find and take care of them." Emily sits on a stool and puts a bucket under the first cow. She reaches under and starts to pull on the teat. Nothing happens. She tries again.

"Shoo!" Aubrey says and gives a slight push to the hen in front of her. The hen flaps her wings and jumps away from Aubrey.

"There's nothing there," Stacie said as she looks in the nest.

"That happens sometimes," Aubrey said as she tries to get the other hens to move.

"Guys," Emily said getting their attention. "I think we should head back to the diner now."

"Why?," Aubrey asks. "What's wrong?"

"Are you finding any eggs?," Emily asks as she stands and walks toward Aubrey.

"Actually, no," Aubrey said and furrows her brow as she checks all the nests. "There aren't any eggs at all."

"The cows have been milked recently," Emily said as she holds her gun at the ready. The other two girls follow suit and they start moving toward the door.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Beca stood looking around. She cocks her head to the side. "Do you guys hear that?"

Chloe and CR stop and listen. "Is that the alarm from the school?," CR asks.

"Sounds like it," Chloe said. "We will have to pass the school to get to the car lot. We can check and see how many of those things might still be hanging around."

CR and Beca nod and they continue into the mall. Chloe leads them to the army surplus store and they start loading up their backpacks with ammunition and handguns. Beca grabs all the grenades she can see and throws them in a separate bag. CR grabs three or four AR-15s and slings them over her shoulder. She finds ammunition for them and loads them into a backpack. Chloe is checking out the hunting knives and takes a few along with sheaths to hold them. She carefully sticks them down inside one of the backpacks.

Beca goes over to one of the racks and pulls off a heavy parka and puts it on. She zips it and decides it fits well. "We should get one of these coats for all of us," she tells the others. "It gets cold at night. We may need them."

Chloe and CR find their sizes and Chloe pulls out three for Aubrey, Stacie, and Emily.

"Maybe we should get sleeping bags, too," CR suggests. "We don't know where we might have to sleep."

"We could probably get this all to the truck in one trip," Chloe said. "But, we would be vulnerable if we see any of those things."

"Yeah, but if we make too many trips we have a greater risk of running into them," Beca said.

"I say we do one trip," CR suggests. "We just need to be fast and vigilant."

They manage to get everything to the truck without seeing any of the Sightless. They all get in the truck and Chloe looks at them.

"I saw a car dealership past the High School during one of my walks about a month ago," Chloe said. "There are trucks and vans there so I'm sure we can find something we can use. We can check the school on the way."

"That works," Beca said and CR nods. They both had two guns at the ready just in case.

Chloe starts the truck and pulls away from the mall and goes onto the street. They can hear the alarm bells get louder as they got closer to the school.

"Holy shit," CR yells out. Chloe sees what CR sees and stops the truck. They are about a hundred yards from the school and the school is literally surrounded by the Sightless.

"Where the hell did they all come from?," Beca asks somewhat in awe of the number they were seeing.

"Should we keep going?," Chloe asks watching the crowd. "It doesn't seem like anything's changed with them. It looks like they are all still trying to get to the alarms."

"They may have managed to stop a couple of them," Beca said. "It doesn't seem as loud as before."

"We're in the truck," CR said. "We can outrun them if we have to."

"I think CR is right," Beca said. "We really need to find another truck."

"Okay," Chloe said, biting her bottom lip. "Let's do this."

She puts the truck in drive and starts moving. She speeds up a bit and then maintains her speed so the engine is a continuous hum. She's afraid that going faster may make the engine louder or create some noise that would make them aware of their presence. They manage to get past the school safely, although Beca and CR both shiver as they drive by.

"Did it seem like some of them were following us with their eyes," CR whispers to Beca. Beca swallows and nods her head.

"What? What's wrong?," Chloe asks, sensing a change in their demeanor. "Why are you whispering?"

"It's probably just nerves," CR responds. "But it seemed like some of them were watching us as we rode by."

Chloe quickly checks the rearview mirror. "None of them are following us."

"That's good," Beca said. "Let's just keep going and do what we have to do so we can get back."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Aubrey gets to the barn door first and slowly opens it. She looks around but doesn't see or hear anyone or anything. She eases the door open a little wider and looks again before she exits the barn.

"Close the door behind us," Aubrey said. "Just in case there are some non-Sightless around, they can use the milk and eggs."

"What if it's the people who killed the folks at the school?," Stacie asks.

"I can't just let them go if someone is already using them for food or drink," Aubrey said. "No matter what they may or may not have done. I just can't."

"I get it, Aubrey," Emily said as she closes the door and makes sure it is secure. "Let's go."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Chloe drove about ten minutes further down the road and finds the Nissan dealership. She slowly drives around to look for any signs of the Sightless or any other signs of life. They don't see anything, but they do see several cargo vans. Chloe stops near one of them. "That might be good to use. We can carry a bunch of supplies in it."

"Let's check it out," CR said and gets out of the truck. She walks over and tries the driver's side door only to find it locked. "It's locked. I bet we can find some keys inside the dealership."

CR and Beca walk to the door and try it. It opens. Chloe looks around and follows them in. "Check to see if there is an office in the back. That's probably where they keep all the keys."

Beca goes to the back and sees the keys are tagged with the vehicle's license plate number. CR runs out and gets the plate number to the van and they go back to find the right keys. The hurry outside and CR goes to click the button to unlock the van but Beca stops her.

"We don't want to attract any of those things," Beca tells her. "It may not be very loud, but this may make the kind of noise they are attracted to."

"Sorry," CR said and walks over to unlock the door with the key. It opens with no trouble. They both check out the interior and are satisfied that it fits their needs. "This perfect. Let's get out of here."

"Wait," Beca said. "Where's Chloe?"

"Right here," Chloe said from behind her. "I found us a better truck. Come see."

CR and Beca follow Chloe around the corner and see a silver-gray Nissan Titan. "Damn, girl," CR said. "That's one badass looking truck."

"It sure is," Chloe said, her eyes gleaming. "And, I have the keys." She goes over and unlocks the doors. This truck has all the bells and whistles. "It has a backseat so we don't all have to jam into the front. I think we should trade in the old one for this baby."

Beca can't help but smile at Chloe. There isn't much to be excited about these days and it's nice to see her like this. "I think you're right, Chlo," she said with a grin. "Let's load our stuff into this truck and get out of here. Why don't you drive it around to the other side."

Chloe doesn't have to be told twice. "Get in you two," she said and drives them to the other vehicles.

They hurry and put all their new stuff into the new truck. CR climbs behind the wheel of the van and starts it up. She pulls out and Beca tells her to take the lead. CR does and Chloe follows behind. They are traveling at a pretty good speed and Chloe is loving the new truck.

"Oh, my God, Becs," Chloe exclaims, her eyes shining. "This truck is amazing. And listen to that engine purring like a kitten."

Beca can only sit in her seat and smile at the redhead. Beca looks up when she suddenly hears the school's alarm. They are much closer to it than she thought. CR continues to maintain her speed and drives by the school. Chloe does the same and they seem to be in the clear. Beca keeps an eye on the crowd that is still at the school but doesn't get the feeling of being watched like before. She lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Let's sing," Chloe said suddenly. "I want to sing."

"You're crazy, you know that?," Beca said, smiling at how happy Chloe is. "What should we sing?"

"You shoot me down, but I won't fall," Chloe starts and bursts into laughter at the look on Beca's face. "You're so easy, Mitchell."

Beca just gives her a glare. She starts to say something when Chloe suddenly sits up straight and is looking in the rearview mirror. There's something moving in the distance behind them.

"What the fuck?," Chloe said. Beca turns to look over her shoulder. She spots the movement easily. It's dark and moving fast, and it seems to be gaining on them.

"What the hell is that?," Beca asks.

"I don't know," Chloe answers, she spares a glance into the rearview mirror. "But it's gaining on us." Her foot instinctively pushes down on the gas pedal and the truck picks up speed.

Beca takes no comfort as the mass continues to catch up. She knows she needs to act. "Keep driving and don't stop for anything," Beca tells Chlo. "And I mean _**anything**_."

Beca climbs into the backseat and opens the window that leads to the bed of the pickup. She starts to shimmy through, and for the first time in a long time, she's really thankful that she's so petite.

"What are you doing?," Chloe screams at her. She is not liking this plan one bit. Unconsciously she eases up on the gas pedal.

Beca lands in the bed of the truck and looks back at Chloe. "Don't slow down or stop for anything." Chloe looks at Beca in the mirror and their eyes lock. "I love you!" Chloe nods and Beca sees her lips mouth ' _I love you, too_ ,' and the petite brunette feels the truck's speed pick up again.

Beca turns and gets the bag with the grenades in it. She pulls one out and removes the pin. Looking up she's shocked to see how close the dark mass is. It's a horde; a horde of the Sightless _._ But even in her surprised state, she notes that there's something different. She shakes herself free of her hesitation and throws the grenade as hard as she can.

The small metal orb hits the pavement and bounds in the air about four feet, and then disappears among the horde, just before it explodes. She watches as what looks like a half-dozen bodies fly through the air, yet there are still more running on after the truck.

The sight of so many of these new Sightless is fear-inducing. She realizes she can actually hear their feet slapping on the pavement, most are now barefoot. She also realizes they're screeching high pitched keening sounds that leave her cold. She is frozen by all this for a moment.

Chloe must have noticed in the rear view mirror because she honks the truck's horn. This wakes Beca and she scrambles to the bag. She removes another grenade, pulling the pin and throwing it immediately. She throws two more before she pulls out her gun and starts firing. Her first shots are rapid, but then she realizes she needs to be more steady. Taking her time she aims at the ones still coming at the truck. Once she shoots what she hopes is the last one, Beca falls onto her back in the bed of the truck. The adrenaline leaving her overwhelmed.

"Beca!," Chloe is yelling. "Beca! Answer me!"

 ***0*0*0*0***

"What the hell was that?," Aubrey asks as she jumps up and rushes to the window.

"Sounded like some kind of explosion," Stacie said. She is now standing next to Aubrey as they both look out the diner's front window.

"Can we please talk about how someone has milked cows and taken eggs and we haven't seen them?," Emily said, frustration and fear heavy in her voice.

"Let's just hope those explosions were caused by our girls," Stacie said.

"I'm so ready to get the hell out of here," Emily said and starts gathering her stuff.

 ***0*0*0*0***

"I'm fine," Beca sits up and yells to Chloe through the open window. "Keep driving. I'm going to stay back here in case any more show up."

Chloe wipes a tear from her face and hurries to get back to the diner. She parks around the back next to the van and jumps out of the truck. Beca jumps out of the bed of the pickup and the two girls grab each other in a bone crushing hug as tears stream down their faces. Beca pulls back and gives Chloe a kiss. Chloe ends the kiss and grabs Beca into another hug. Beca hugs her back and they stand there for another minute just holding on to each other.

"We should get inside," Beca said putting her arm around Chloe's waist as they walk towards the diner.

The door is thrown open and CR is standing in front of them. They see the rest of the girls over CR's shoulder looking at them anxiously.

"What the fuck was that?," CR asks as soon as she opens the door.

"Let's get inside," Chloe said.

CR looks at them and moves aside to let them enter. She secures the door and follows the others into the dining area. They take seats and CR looks at Beca and Chloe.

"What the fuck was that?," CR asks them again.

"I don't know," Beca said shaking her head. "But they were faster than I don't know what and they were running right at us."

"What the hell happened?," Stacie asks. "We heard what sounded like explosions."

"Grenades," Beca said, suddenly noticing she was shaking. Chloe noticed and took her hand to calm her. "Those things are evolving or something. They looked like those infected zombie sightless things but they were running like really fast and came right at the truck. Like they knew we were there. Like they could see us or something. They came at us in a horde. It was...scary."

"This isn't good," Aubrey said, anxiety present in her voice. "We always had the element of knowing what made them tick so we could avoid them. If they can hear everything now...or see."

"We didn't meet up with any of the Sightless," Emily said. "But someone has been to the barn."

"How can you tell?," Beca asks.

"The cows have been milked," Emily responds. "And there wasn't a single egg to be found."

The girls look at each other. They are more afraid now than they've been since this whole thing started.

"We need to leave now," Chloe said. "Get out of here while we can."

"I agree," Beca said. "They die or whatever if you shoot them and the grenades worked on them too. But, if they're evolving we may not stand a chance against them."

"I'm afraid Beca's right," Emily said. "I say we pack the trucks up and get the hell out of here. Try and make it to one of the survivor camps tonight."

They are all in agreement and start making plans to leave. Aubrey pulls out a map and lays it flat on a table. All the women multitask, continuing to gather items to take with them, as they discuss possible destinations. There is a general consensus to head to Tybee Island near Savannah. Aubrey and Beca plot out the best route and both write the directions down so that each vehicle will have a copy to follow.

Once the decision is made on their destination, the girls jump into action and start loading up the cargo van. Emily is insistent they take the mattresses and the other girls relent to keep from spending too much time arguing about it. With the six of them, it doesn't take long to load up both vehicles. They take everything they can from the diner and load it into the cargo van. The weapons and ammunition are placed in the bed of the pickup along with one of the mattresses; the other two are placed in the van.

CR gets behind the wheel of the van with Emily riding shotgun, literally as she checks to see if her shotgun is loaded. Both vehicles have several loaded guns and a few grenades close at hand. Chloe takes the wheel of the pickup with Beca riding shotgun. She makes sure her guns and grenades are within easy reach. Stacie and Aubrey opt to ride in the bed of the pickup, using the mattress to sit on. They have the rest of the weapons and ammunition at their disposal if needed.

The two vehicles head out, with CR taking the lead. They drive away from the diner and each girl feels like she is leaving something of herself behind. Beca glances back in the direction of the mall and sends up a silent prayer for Jesse. Stacie takes Aubrey's hand as they continually scan their surroundings for anything that looks out of place.

Chloe is keeping her eyes on the road but is also scanning from side to side as she drives. Beca looks over at Chloe trying to see everywhere at once.

"Why don't you keep your eyes on the road and look to your left," Beca suggests. "I'll keep watch on the right."

"Okay," Chloe agrees, giving Beca a grateful smile.

Beca can sense how tense Chloe is. She reaches across the seat and gives Chloe's shoulder a squeeze. "We're going to be fine." Chloe gives her a thankful smile and puts her left hand on top of Beca's.

They both go back to keeping watch as they follow behind CR and Emily. They had only been on the road for about an hour when Beca hears Chloe exclaim, "Dammit!."

"What?," Beca asks, sitting up straight and looking around. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she asks, "What's wrong?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Just want to start off by saying thanks for the reviews and the positive feedback. I was a little hesitant because I don't normally do this kind of thing, but thanks to skyeze.10's prompt and encouragement (i.e., boosting my ego), and RJRMovieFan's incredible additions, I am enjoying writing this story. I hope you continue to enjoy reading it.**

* * *

"We need gas," Chloe tells her. "I should have checked the gas gauge when we took the truck."

"God, woman," Beca said looking at Chloe with her hand over her heart. "Don't scare me like that."

Chloe gives her an apologetic smile causing Beca to smile back at her. "Pull up next to CR so I can tell her we need to stop."

Chloe speeds up the truck and is side by side with CR. She looks over at them and Beca put down her window. "We need gas," she yells. CR nods and points to a sign showing gas at the next exit.

Chloe slows up and pulls back in behind the van. CR leads them up the exit and heads toward a gas station. Beca climbs into the backseat and opens the small window leading to the bed of the truck. Stacie sticks her head down so she can hear and Beca tells them they were stopping for gas.

The girls were all on high alert as they make their way to the gas station. CR pulls into one and parks at a set of pumps; Chloe pulls up on the other side. They all look around before getting out of their respective vehicles.

"Does anyone know how to operate these things without a credit card?," Beca asks checking out the pump.

"We'll have to go inside," CR tells her. "I used to work at a gas station. I can do it."

The girls all grab a gun and head toward the entrance to the station, save for Emily who watches over the vehicles. CR carefully pulls on the door and it opens. They all walk in and look around. The foodstuff had been ransacked and there was stuff laying all over the floors.

"Somebody's been through here," Aubrey mutters.

CR goes behind the counter and searches for something. "Aha! There it is." She does something under the counter and looks at the girls with a smile. "Let's pump some gas."

The girls head out the door with CR and Chloe heading to the pumps to fill the two vehicles. Aubrey and Stacie position themselves at intervals with Emily to keep watch.

Beca decides to grab some bottles of water from the cold drinks section and is left alone in the station. She had just opened the cooler door when she hears a noise. She glances quickly to her right where the sound came from. She swallows and quietly closes the door and makes her way out to get the girls, keeping an eye on the aisle in case someone, or something, came after her. She steps outside and whisper-yells, "Guys!" Aubrey is closest and turns to look at her. Beca rushes over to her.

"I heard something inside the store," Beca says looking over her shoulder. Aubrey is immediately on alert. She goes over to Stacie and tells her what's going on. They watch the door and stand ready to enter the store once everyone knows what's happening.

Beca grabs Emily next and has the young girl walk over to Chloe with her. She tells Chloe and they leave Emily to continue pumping gas into the truck. CR is looking over at them with a furrowed brow, wondering what was going on. Chloe goes over to tell her. She then gets Emily's attention. "You guys finish pumping the gas," Chloe tells them both. "Be vigilant. We'll check out the store and be back as fast as we can. If anything happens to us, just go." She doesn't give them a chance to say anything else before rushing back over to Beca, Stacie, and Aubrey. "Let's go check it out." The four girls get their weapons ready and slowly make their way back inside the station.

Beca leads the way, quietly taking steps toward the sound she initially heard when another sound came through the quiet. Beca thought it came from the end of the aisle and looks to the security mirrors; she cusses under her breath because the mirrors don't show what's at the end of the aisle. She points to Chloe and directs her to go to the left of the aisle opposite where the sound came from. She points to Aubrey and Stacie to stay where they are. She nods at Chloe and they both start inching their way down their respective aisle. Beca watches Chloe's progress in the security mirror so she can get to the end of the aisle at the same time. They come to the end and both quickly poke their heads out for a quick check. They both gasp when they recognize the lone girl who jumps up ready to swing the baseball bat she was holding. "Lily?," Beca said in surprise.

Lily freezes with the bat over her head when she hears her name. She looks from side to side and stops when she sees Beca looking at her wide-eyed. A tear falls down Lily's face as she just stares at Beca. Her head jerks around suddenly and her grip tightens on the bat when she hears someone running down the aisle toward them.

"Lily!," Stacie's high pitched voice yells when she sees the girl. Followed quickly by several shushes.

Lily relaxes once she sees Stacie and Aubrey, both of whom stop short as soon as they see Lily. Lily is still holding the bat over her head and is now staring at them as if they may disappear if she looks away. Chloe moves slowly so she is in front of Lily.

"Hey, Lily," Chloe said. "It's Chloe. Can you look at me? I'm just going to take the bat, okay?" She slowly reaches to take the bat from the girl. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you. I promise."

Once Lily realizes who is talking to her she let's go of the bat and throws herself into Chloe's arms causing her to fall back against the shelf behind her with an 'oof'. The bat and Chloe's gun fall and clatter to the floor. Chloe's eyes soften and tear up as Lily starts crying. Chloe does what she does best and just puts her arms around the younger girl and holds her. "Shhh, it's okay," Chloe said as tears fell from her eyes. "I've got you. You're safe."

"Stacie, go let CR and Emily know what's happening," Beca said taking charge. "Aubrey, can you do a quick check on the other side of the station? Just in case we've attracted any attention. Chloe and I will get Lily together and be out in a few minutes."

The two girls nod and go do as Beca directed. Beca stands to the side of Lily and Chloe and gently puts a hand on Lily's shoulder. Both she and Chloe notice the way Lily flinched.

"Hey, Lily," Beca said softly. "It's just me, Beca. We're going to get you out of here. Okay?"

Lily nods and slowly pulls away from Chloe. Beca could see the tears still falling down her face. She pulls Lily into a hug as Chloe reaches down and retrieves her gun and the bat.

"We're really glad to see you, Lily," Beca said as she continued to hold the girl.

"Oh, my gosh, Lily," Chloe said, joining the hug. "I can't believe we found you here."

"I'm not alone," Lily said quietly.

"What?," Beca asks, as she and Chloe pull back and look at Lily, not sure they heard right.

"I'm not alone," Lily repeats causing Beca and Chloe both to go on the alert. They step back, weapons at the ready, and look around.

"What do you mean, you're not alone?," Beca asks as she checks the security mirrors.

"Follow me," Lily said and walks toward the back of the station. Beca and Chloe follow, with Chloe glancing out the window to see how the others were doing. They follow Lily into a back room. Chloe and Beca are shocked to see two little girls huddled together. Lily kneels down in front of them. The two girls look up at her and then to Beca and Chloe.

"It's okay," Lily tells them softly. "These are my friends." The girls visibly relax. Lily turns to Beca and Chloe. "This is Sammy and Taylor."

Chloe smiles and puts her pistol away in the back of her pants. She holds out both hands and kneels next to Lily. "Hi, Sammy. Hi, Taylor. I'm Chloe and over there is Beca." Beca gives them a small wave. The two girls smile and wave back.

"We should probably get out of here," Beca said. She's nervous because they've been here longer than she expected. "Lily, we are happy to take you all with us. We are trying to get to a survivor camp we read about."

"I read about them, too," Lily said. "That's where I was headed before I got carjacked by a group of guys. These two found me and brought me here. They protected me for a bit and I promised I'd take care of them as well."

"How have you managed?," Chloe said. "What about food?"

"We've pretty much stayed here because the girls hope their folks will be back to get them," Lily tells them. "We usually go out about every two days to get food from some of the other places around here. We've managed to do pretty well for the past month or so."

Beca was impressed. Sammy and Taylor didn't look like they were more than 6 or 7 years old. "So, are you coming with us?"

"Please?," Chloe said looking at the three. "We can keep you all safe. I promise."

Sammy and Taylor look at Lily, unsure of what to do.

"What if mommy and daddy come back?," Taylor asks softly. "They won't know where we are."

Chloe and Beca can feel their hearts breaking for the two girls. Beca looks at Chloe and gives her a look. Chloe just nods, knowing that Beca is silently asking her to try and get the girls to leave with them.

"Why don't we leave them a note?," Chloe suggests. "Tell them where we're going so they can come and find you. You can stay with us until they come get you. How does that sound?"

Taylor and Sammy look at each other. Taylor whispers something to Sammy causing Sammy to look at the three women. She turns back and whispers something to Taylor. Taylor smiles and nods her head.

"We will go with you," Taylor said, causing all three women to smile.

Chloe stands up and reaches down to help the two girls stand. Chloe writes a note on some paper she found and leaves it on the counter. Beca grabs as many bottles of water as she can carry and they all walk out of the station and over to the others. Emily rushes over as soon as she sees Lily and pulls her into a hug.

"I'm so glad to see you," Emily whispers.

"I'm glad to see you, too," Lily whispers back. "All of you."

"Guys," Chloe said. "This is Sammy and this is Taylor." The older women all give them a greeting. Chloe then looks at the two young girls and points out each of the women, giving their name. "You guys can ride in the backseat of the pickup."

"We should really get going," Aubrey said. "CR? Chloe? Do you want one of us to drive for a while?"

"If you don't mind," CR tells her handing her the keys to the van. "I could use a break. Especially after this morning's adventure."

"Okay," Aubrey said. "Stacie, you want to ride with me?"

"Sure," Stacie said and the two girls go over and get into the van.

"Chlo," Beca said. "I'll drive for a while so you can rest a bit."

"Okay," Chloe agrees. "Thanks, Becs."

Lily and the two girls get in the backseat. CR and Emily get into the bed of the truck.

"Em, would you put these in the cooler?," Becas asks and hands the waters to the young girl before climbing behind the wheel of the truck.

Emily puts the waters away and she and CR settle down on the mattress, their backs against the truck's cab. The two vehicles pull out of the station and head back to the highway.

"You can lay down and rest for a bit if you want," Emily tells CR. "I'll keep watch."

"Are you sure?," CR asks.

"Yeah," Emily said. "I know you've been through a lot this morning. And, no offense, but you look like you could use it."

"Thanks," CR said with a relieved smile. Emily moves to let CR get settled and then gets back into position to resume watching the road behind them.

In the distance they hear an inhuman screeching, it sends shivers down both women's spines, then their blood goes cold as they hear other screeches, seemingly in reply, some closer, much closer.

"We should go," CR says through the back window. Beca nods and starts the vehicle. Everyone feels more comfortable once the two vehicles are moving again.

Chloe looks back at Lily and the girls. She smiles and asks Lily, "What happened to you? You just disappeared and we had no idea where you were or what happened."

"One night while I was keeping watch," Lily said. "I spotted a whole pack of the zombies. They were headed straight for where we were holed up. I moved out, and," Lily blushes, "I started to beatbox..."

"You started to beatbox?," Chloe asked incredulously.

"Yeah," she may have blushed deeper. "It seemed to confuse the zombies, especially if I changed up the sounds or rhythm."

"That's amazing, though I could see it working on the Sightless," Chloe said.

"Sightless?," Lily asks.

"Yeah, that's what we started calling the zombies," Chloe explains. "It just seemed surreal calling them zombies, though I guess Sightless is pretty stupid..."

"No," Lily responds, "It's actually a perfect monicker."

"So it worked?," Chloe asks.

Lily nods. "Better than I expected. I was able to lead the pack almost two miles away." The young Korean woman pauses, "I was just about to give the pack the slip when…"

Chloe was on the edge of her seat. "When?," she prompts

Lily sighs, "Someone got the drop on me and I was knocked out and taken somewhere else. When I woke up, there were like six people standing around me. When they determined I wasn't infected, I told them about you girls and how we had been traveling together. They decided they would take me back and maybe join up with us. By the time we got back to where they captured me, you guys were gone. So, I stayed with them."

"Where are they now?," Beca asks.

"I don't know," Lily responds. "About a month or so ago we ran into a group of those mutant zombie things. We were hiding in a parking lot around a bunch of cars. One of the women got freaked out when they got close to us and she ran. She fell into a car triggering the alarm. Those things heard the alarm and went over to it. The girl started screaming and they zeroed in on her. A couple of the guys ran over to help her. They all got attacked and the rest of us just started running. We lost each other and I wasn't able to find them."

"How about these two?," Chloe asks. "How'd you find them?"

"They actually kind of found me," Lily said with a light chuckle. "I had seen a flyer about the survivor camps. I found a car and started heading East. Like you, I pulled into the gas station to try and get gas. I was jumped by three guys who beat me unconscious and took the car. These two had been hiding inside and came out to check on me. I was knocked out and they managed to get me into a toy wagon and dragged me to where they had been hiding. I woke up still in the wagon with the two of them staring at me. We've been together ever since."

"You girls were very brave," Chloe tells them. "Thank you for saving our friend."

"You're welcome," Sammy said softly, speaking for the first time since they were found.

Chloe gave her a big smile and Sammy returned it.

"How old are you girls?," Chloe asks.

"I'm seven," Taylor replies. "Sammy is five."

"What about you guys?," Lily asks Beca. "What happened to Jesse and Donald?"

Chloe saw the look of pain and sorrow in Beca's eyes when Lily asked about Jesse and Donald, so she gave Lily a brief synopsis of what happened them.

"I'm sorry," is all Lily said.

"Another thing you should know," Beca adds. "Those things are evolving or something." She proceeds to fill Lily in on what happened earlier that day.

"I was afraid of that," Lily said. "It tends to happen with a virus starts to mutate. Each new victim of the infection has different reactions. It sounds like some 'newer' zombie-like mutants are able to hear more sounds. We need to really be careful."

"We are," Chloe assures her. "That's why we left today instead of waiting. We hope to find one of those survivor camps."

Taylor tugs on Lily's shirt. "Lily, I'm hungry," the little girl said quietly.

"Me, too," Sammy said.

"We made some sandwiches," Chloe tells them, having heard the girls. "There's plenty for everyone. We'll find a place to stop and eat. Okay?"

"Help me find a spot that's flat and open all around," Beca said, looking ahead. "That way we can see everything."

"Okay," Chloe said. "I can't believe it's only Noon. It feels like it should be eight or nine at night."

Beca speeds up and pulls in front of Aubrey. Aubrey knew something was going to happen so she fell in behind Beca.

"Up there, Beca," Chloe said pointing out a spot. "We can park in the median and see all around."

Beca doesn't say anything, she just pulls the truck over and checks to make sure Aubrey was doing the same. She finds a decent spot and stops the truck. Aubrey pulls in front and parks the van.

CR sat up when she felt the truck stop. "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure," Emily said and sees Chloe getting out of the truck. "Why are we stopping?"

"We're going to eat," Chloe tells her. "Can you get the sandwiches we made out of the cooler? And grab some waters for everyone, too. I'm going to tell Brey and Stacie."

Chloe walks towards the van as Stacie and Aubrey get out.

"The girls are hungry so we're stopping for a bit," Chloe tells them.

"Thanks, Chlo. We were both just saying we were kind of hungry," Aubrey said as the three girls walk back to the truck.

Everyone grabs a sandwich and Beca opens up some chips. Aubrey and Emily sit on the tailgate of the truck, CR and Stacie sit on the left side, Beca and Chloe sit on the right. They were all scanning the area the whole time.

Lily had taken her food and was now sitting on the roof of the cargo van. She sits facing forward and was keeping her eyes peeled for anything happening on the horizon. The two young girls were sitting on the mattress in the bed of the truck and quietly eating. Chloe had to laugh when Sammy took her first bite and let out a satisfying 'mmmm'.

"Did Lily tell you what happened to her?," Emily asks Chloe.

"Yeah," Chloe said and told the other girls what Lily had told her and Beca.

"Damn," CR said.

"And we thought we only had to worry about the Sightless," Emily said. "Now that we're on the move we'll probably run into more of those types. This fucking sucks."

"Emily!," Aubrey said, chastising the girl. "Language." She nods her head towards the two girls.

"Sorry," Emily said. "But it does."

"No one's disagreeing with you, Em," Chloe said. "Sadly, we'll be hearing more stories like this when we finally get somewhere safe."

"We should probably get started," Beca tells them. "I'll keep driving. Aubrey, you good or do you want someone to take over?"

"Stacie already said she'd drive for a bit," Aubrey responds.

"Okay, then," Beca said. "Let's go. Lily! We're ready to head out."

Lily climbs down off the top of the cargo van and walks back to the truck. Everyone gets into the same places they were before they stopped. Stacie pulls off and Beca follows behind.

Chloe and Beca continue to chat with Lily and the two young girls. They had only been driving for about 30 minutes when Beca notes Stacie slowing the van to a stop.

"What's going on?," Beca mumbles to herself as she pulls to the left and stops beside Stacie. Once she moves from behind the van, they see that about a half mile in front of them was what looked to be a roadblock. It was just one car parked across the double lanes and two people standing in the road next to it.

"What the hell?," Beca asks. "They don't look like police or the military from here."

"Should we keep going?," Chloe asks.

"I'm going to take CR and go talk to Aubrey and Stacie," Beca said. "Come up with some kind of a plan. Lily, you stay in the truck with the girls. Chloe, have your bow ready just in case they start coming at us. I'll have Emily stand ready as well."

Chloe nods and gets her bow ready, notching an arrow. Beca gets out of the truck and calls for CR to come with her. She yells up to Emily to keep an eye on the two guys. Beca and CR stand by Stacie's door. "What do you think we should do?," Beca asks.

"I think we should at least see what's going on," Aubrey said leaning around Stacie so she can be heard. "If they were those things, they'd have come for us by now. Since they're staying back, I'm guessing they're being as cautious as we are."

"I have to agree with Aubrey on this one," CR said. "We'll all have our guns ready just in case."

"Beca," Stacie said, looking at the shorter brunette. "If things look shady, I'm hitting the gas and going around on the right because it's flat and I shouldn't have to worry about getting stuck. You go left. That truck will power you through."

"Got it," Beca said. "I'll get out and talk to them. Brey, can you come with me? And make sure you have a gun on you somewhere."

"Don't worry, Beca," Aubrey said. "I got your back."

Beca nods and everyone returns to the vehicles. The girls check their guns and CR passes a few grenades to Chloe who put them on the seat between her and Beca.

"Lily, put the girls down on the floor," Beca tells her. "Stay down with them. If there's any shooting I don't want them to get hurt."

Lily did as Beca said and put the girls on the floor. Chloe passes Lily the Beretta pistol she's been carrying, telling her the safety is on. The young Asian woman double checks that it's loaded and the safety is off and then kneels down with the two young girls, readying herself to use her body to shield them both.

"Here we go," Beca mumbles as she and Stacie slowly start driving again. Beca kept the truck even with Stacie as they drove. "Chloe, watch the tree line, shout if you spot anything." She sees Chloe nod in her peripheral vision, even as she keeps her eyes on the would-be roadblock. She can see two guys standing in the middle of the road waving them down. Stacie and Beca both stop about 10 feet away.

"Chloe," Beca said quietly. "I'm going to get out and see what's going on. I need you slide over here and be ready. If anything happens, and I mean anything, you get the hell out of here. Go around them on the left because Stacie is planning to head to the right. Do you understand?"

"Beca, no," Chloe said and pulls Beca to her. "I'm not going to just leave you. Don't ask me to do that, Beca. Please. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I love you, Chloe," Beca whispers, laying her forehead on Chloe's. "I need to know that you're going to keep everyone safe. That you'll be okay. Please? For me?"

"That's not fair, Becs," Chloe said as a tear falls down her face. "Let me do it. I'll go talk to them."

"No," Beca said and pulls Chloe to her. "I need you to stay alive. I'll be fine. I promise." She gives Chloe a smile and a quick kiss. "Lily! Watch her."

Lily pops up from the back and grabs Chloe, holding her back as Beca gets out of the truck.

"Lily, let me go!," Chloe yells as she fights to break away from her. She lets out a sob and holds onto Lily's arms.

Beca walks to the back of the truck. "I need you two to get an AR-15 and put them on these guys."

"You got it, Becs," CR said. Seconds later CR and Emily both stand in the truck bed with the guns aimed at the two men. Seeing the automatic weapons pointed at them, the men both step back and hold their hands up.

Beca puts her handgun in the waistband at her back and loosely tucks her shirt behind the gun so she can get to it easily. She looks at Aubrey who is standing at the back of the van waiting for her. Beca nods at her and the two walk towards the guys.

Chloe watches as Beca and Aubrey approach the two men. She looks over and sees Stacie watching as well, hands on the wheel, ready to pull off.

"I'm okay, Lily," Chloe said and wipes her tears. Lily holds tighter for fear that Chloe may try to get out of the truck. "I promise. I'm not getting out. I'm just going to get behind the wheel in case things get bad."

Lily nods and lets Chloe go. She stays at the ready until Chloe has situated herself behind the wheel. Once she's satisfied she crouches down to protect the two younger girls, who surprisingly haven't made a sound since the truck stopped.

Chloe keeps her eyes on Beca through the windshield as Beca put her hands up to show the guys she was currently unarmed. Aubrey stops about 5 feet away from them and Beca takes two more steps before she stops.

"What's going on, guys?," Beca asks.

"Do you really need to have those guns pointed at us?," the first guy, an African American, asks looking up at CR and Emily.

Beca looks over her shoulder at Emily and CR and then back at the two guys. "Yes."

"Look, we're just trying to get to a survivor camp we read about," the first guy said. "Our car broke down a couple of hours ago and we've been worried sick that those things were going to come from out of nowhere to get us. You don't know how relieved we are to see you guys, I mean ladies."

Everyone tenses as screeching is heard again in the distance. "Will you please take us with you?," the second guy, a white military type, asks, he looks around as another screech is heard. "I'm begging you." He then drops to his knees and literally begs Beca to take them. "Please?"

"We have some guns and ammo in the car," the first guy said. "It's all military issue. You can have it all if you just get us out of here."

Beca was slightly taken aback by this. Beca steps back to stand beside Aubrey. She looks at her and quietly asks, "Should we take them with us? It couldn't hurt to have extra weapons." To emphasize the point another series of screeches carry on the wind.

Aubrey looks around and there was nothing as far as the eye could see. "There's no place for them to hide except the car. I say we take them, but make sure someone keeps an eye on them the whole time."

"I agree," Beca said. She turns to the guys. "Dude, get up. We'll take you with us." Before Beca can say anything else, the second guy jumps up and wraps her in a hug. Chloe tenses up and CR and Emily tightened their hold on their weapons.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he cries.

"Okay, dude," Beca said. Feeling uncomfortable she gently pushes the guy off her. "Brey, can you help get the weapons out of their car? We just need to load them into the truck and then we can leave."

The second guy wipes his face and nods his head. "It's all good. We'll be fine now."

"Emily, you and CR keep watching them," Beca yells looking at the two girls. At Emily's nod, Beca turns to the two guys and points to the side of the road. "You guys stand over there where they can keep an eye on you. And don't move."

The two guys did as Beca said and she and Aubrey walk to the car and start unloading the weapons the guys had. They were both impressed with the amount of firepower the guys were carrying. They both carry two bags of weapons back to the truck.

Beca stops at the window to talk to Chloe. "We're taking them with us," Beca tells her. She then calls Lily's name and she pops her head up from the floor in the back. "Lily, it might be better if you and the girls rode with Stacie and Aubrey. We're going to need to put some of the weapons and ammo back there. There are mattresses in the back of the van so you'll be comfortable."

"Okay," Lily said.

"I'll help you with the girls," Chloe tells Lily and exits the truck. She chances a look at the two guys and they haven't moved from the spot Beca told them to stand in. She couldn't help the small smile that came to her face thinking about how badass Beca was.

Chloe helps Lily get the girls out of the truck and settled into the van. After the girls are out, Beca and Aubrey put the weapons in the backseat of the truck. They then rearrange some stuff in the bed of the truck and move some of their weapons and ammunition to the backseat of the truck's cab. They left a few ammo clips for Emily and CR. Once they had everything situated, they wave the guys over. They both come running.

"You will sit back here near the tailgate," Beca tells them. "If you make a move toward the front, they will shoot you. If you attempt to do anything but sit here, they will shoot you. Do you understand?"

The two guys gulp and nod their heads. Chloe hides her smile behind her hand. It was kind of hot watching badass Beca Mitchell order these guys around.

"Good," Beca said. "I'm Beca. This is Aubrey," she uses her thumb to point at Aubrey. She points to Emily and CR and introduces them. Chloe is standing by the side of the truck and Beca gives her a smile before pointing her out and saying, "That's Chloe."

The guys nod at each of the girls as they are introduced. "I'm Zeke," the African American guy tells them. "And this is Chicago."

"Okay, gentlemen," Beca said. "Get in. There are some sandwiches and water in the cooler. Ask Emily and she'll make sure you get something to eat. Em, could you hand me a couple of waters?"

Emily reaches into the cooler and pulls out two bottles of water and hands them over the side to Beca. "Thanks."

"We should get out of here," Aubrey said, the last series of screeching seemed a lot closer.

Beca nods and jogs to the passenger door and gets in. She places the two water bottles in the cup holders. Chloe climbs behind the wheel and fastens her seat belt. Aubrey hurries over to the van and hops in. Stacie and Chloe put the vehicles in drive and maneuver around the car and head down the road. This time, Stacie stays in the right lane and Chloe stays in the left. They continue down the road, traveling side by side.

"May I have a sandwich?," Zeke asks Emily.

Emily nods her head and reaches into the cooler. She grabs two sandwiches and tosses one to each of the guys.

"Water?"

"Yes, please."

She tosses them each a bottle and they both say "thanks."

"So, what's your story?," CR asks them. "How'd you come to be out here?"

"We were stationed at Fort Benning," Zeke replies. "We were safe and didn't have any problems with the infected. The base had become a refuge to a few survivors and things went well for a while. On a mission to town to secure food, the convoy was attacked. It was civilians. They were heavily armed and we got separated from our unit. So we hid until we thought it was safe. We found this car and had managed to get this far before the car just died. We weren't able to do anything to get it started again."

"Zeke and I did try to find whatever was left of our squad, but never did," Chicago said, continuing the story. "We found some flyers about survivor camps and decided to head to one of them. We walked for two days, carrying all the weapons and ammo in our packs. We made sure to find shelter at night because there isn't much light on the main roads at night. We finally found that car you saw back there and thought we were finally going to make it until it broke down." Chicago sighs and leans his head back on the tailgate. "Thank you for stopping and bringing us with you. I swear we can help if we run into any of those things. We're not a threat to you."

"We understand," CR said. "But, we've haven't made it this far without using every precaution we can."

"Roger that," Zeke said and tips his water bottle to her.

"Do you think those guys are okay?," Chloe asks looking in her rearview mirror.

"They seem okay," Beca said. "Emily and CR are keeping an eye on them just in case."

"When we get to this survivor camp," Chloe said glancing over at Beca, "do you think we can find some time to be alone. Just you and me?"

"I'm sure we can," Beca tells her. "I'll make sure we can." Beca smiles at Chloe and squeezes her hand. "Shit!"

"What?," Chloe said looking around. "Dammit!" Chloe decreases her speed and Stacie does the same. She and Aubrey saw the same thing Chloe and Beca did.

Up ahead on the opposite side of the road to their left, was a group of the infected zombies. They were just standing there, milling around. They were, by Beca's estimate, a little over a hundred yards away.

Beca climbs into the backseat and yells through the window. "Look alive guys. We've got company."


	5. Chapter 5

Emily and CR both look around the cab of the truck and see a group of the infected on the other side of the highway to their left. They immediately check their guns, making sure they are properly loaded. As CR keeps her rifle directed towards the Sightless, Emily turns about and starts grabbing more ammunition clips, placing them between her and CR. She then knelt on the left side of the truck bringing her AR-15 to bear on the Sightless. The young women each have five extra magazines within easy reach.

The two soldiers are actually impressed with the speed and skill each woman shows handling their military-style rifles. "We can help you," Zeke said crawling forward so he's next to the window. Beca, as well as the two Bellas in the bed of the truck, can hear him.

Beca takes a quick look around at the group. She goes with her gut and makes a snap decision. She grabs several guns and some ammo clips, handing them to Zeke. He hands one rifle and a pistol back to Chicago, who instinctively checks to see if they're loaded. He then crawls back to the rear left corner of the truck. Zeke keeps the AR-15 Beca hands him for himself and focuses on loading more ammo clips as he kneels between Emily and CR.

"It's best not to engage until they get closer," Zeke instructs everyone. "If they charge at us then we fight."

"What about the grenades?," Emily asks.

"They're too close," Chicago replies. "The explosion could propel them into the truck. They won't be dead, just more pissed off."

CR and Emily looked at each other, uncertain if he was being serious or trying to make a joke. They didn't have time to think about it.

Zeke quickly loads three more ammo clips and then takes his position.

"I'm going to do a quick check on the other side," CR said once the soldier is in place. "Make sure there aren't any to surprise us." She moved to the opposite side of the truck and scanned as far as she could see up and down the area.

"Chloe pull up as close to Stacie as you can," Beca said and put down the back passenger window.

CR sees that Chloe is pulling even with the van. Not seeing anything to worry about on that side, she moves back to kneel beside Emily.

When her window is even with the van's driver side door, Beca yells out to Stacie. The window goes down and Stacie glances over to show Beca she's listening. "Stace, keep driving no matter what. We'll take care of these things and meet up with you. Just get those kids out of here and keep them safe. Hopefully, you won't encounter any trouble, but know we'll be there as soon as we can."

Stacie relays what Beca said to Aubrey and Lily. She turns back to Beca and just nods her head and hit the gas.

"Should I stop or keep moving?," Chloe asks watching as the group gets closer.

"Keep moving, but hang back some," Beca said. "I want to see if they do anything when Stacie drives by them. Be ready to intercept if they start moving towards the van."

Chloe nods and they both watch the van moving along at a good speed and passing by the zombies. Both let out a breath when the Sightless didn't do anything.

"Maybe we'll be just as lucky," Beca said. "Speed up some." Chloe does and Beca moves to sit behind her and puts the window down. She checks her gun and leans slightly out the window ready for whatever might happen.

Chloe is scared and nervous. She keeps moving and they were passing the Sightless. It looks like they were going to get by them without anything happening and she breathes a sigh of relief. Chloe's relief was short-lived. Suddenly, there's a screech, followed by more screeching. The redhead then hears Beca yell, "Here they come!" She presses down on the accelerator, praying for the speed of the truck to pick up. Unfortunately, they are climbing a hill and the pickup doesn't gather as much speed as she had hoped.

Then all hell breaks loose. There were about a dozen of the things running straight for the truck, with more running out of the tree line. These creatures are fast, too, closing the distance to the truck in a matter of seconds. Beca and the four in the back start firing, killing about half of the closest Sightless before they can reach the truck. The remaining half make it close enough to the truck to start reaching out, attempting to grab onto the truck. The occupants of the truck are all shocked to see them running and keeping up with the speeding truck. Zeke and Chicago keep shooting at them but the Sightless seem to sense the bullet coming and each shot has missed them so far. One of them manages to put its hand on Beca's gun and she fires but misses. She struggles to keep the gun until she sees the creature's mouth open as he leans in to bite her. Chloe sees what is happening in the side mirror and just as Beca lets go of the gun she swerves the truck hoping to make it loosen its grip. The creature tumbles off and rolls away while Beca is thrown back onto the seat.

When Chloe swerved the truck it causes the four in the back to fall and one of the infected manages to grab CR's arm and fall on top of her. She struggles with it, trying to fight it off when Zeke grabs it from behind and throws it off the back. The fall didn't do anything to deter the creature. It just gets back up and runs right at them again. Zeke shot it as it reached for the tailgate.

Beca grabbed another gun. She hung half out the window and shot the closest creature as it reached the truck. She pulled herself back in when she saw that four of the creatures made their way onto the truck. She hesitated to fire because she was afraid she'd miss and hit one her friends. She could only watch through the back window, hoping for a clear shot, as her friends fought for their lives.

Beca watched as the others fought with the creatures in the close quarters of the bed of the pickup truck. They were unable to use their weapons and had to use hand-to-hand combat tactics to keep from being bitten. They would throw the zombies off the truck only to have them back up and running at them again in seconds. They were so fast there wasn't even time to get a shot off at them. Beca goes back to the window and shoots at the ones that get thrown off the truck, only managing to hit two.

Emily is desperately fighting off one and manages to pull her pistol out. She presses the gun to the Sightless' forehead and pulls the trigger. The shot causes the dead Sightless to fly back into Chicago who was leaning over the tailgate, having just stabbed another Sightless climbing up. Before anyone can react, Chicago and the dead zombies tumble over the back of the truck.

The girls and Zeke feel ice in their blood as they hear Chicago's screams and the creatures screeching as two more attack him; they couldn't do anything to help him. They feel the truck slow down.

Zeke takes aim, shooting one Sightless attacking Chicago, but it's quickly replaced by two more. He can see that Chicago has numerous bites already. He lowers his aim to Chicago lying on the ground and squeezes off a shot. Chicago's screams are cut short. CR and Emily flip their rifles to three round bursts and open up on the growing pack of Sightless around the soldier's body.

In the cab, Chloe had watched in her side mirror in horror as Chicago went over the back. She had started to hit the brakes but had seen the two Sightless attacking him and more on the way. Beca slides to the truck's right side and shoots one running at them; the redhead realizes they are at risk of being surrounded.

She wipes a tear and gets angry. Pressing down on the accelerator, the truck speeds up. She turns the wheel to the right and catches two Sightless coming at them and drives over them. No one pays any attention to the thump of the truck running over the two bodies.

CR and Zeke manage to rid the truck of the last two of the infected, while Emily drops a grenade out the back that takes out the legs of four that had started to pursue them again.

They instinctively kneel at strategic points around the bed, looking all around to make sure there were no more Sightless coming at them. Zeke takes the spot where Chicago fell, Emily the right side, CR the left. Each holding onto the truck breathing heavily, feeling bone weary.

Beca felt a profound sense of helplessness as she watched Zeke, CR, and Emily sit in the bed of the truck obviously in shock, all having just barely survived the attack. She wants to do something but feels completely useless.

Chloe is crying freely now and her body shakes with small sobs. For some reason, the deaths of everyone seem to be hitting her at this moment. The young soldier she's barely met and doesn't really know, being a trigger.

CR reaches out and puts a hand on Zeke's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He just continues to look down at the pavement as it flows by the moving truck.

Beca hears Chloe sniffle and reaches over the seat and hugs her around the neck, glad that they are safe and can breathe easier. Chloe puts a hand on Beca's arm and just enjoys the moment. "You okay?" Beca asks quietly and Chloe nods. Beca kisses the side of Chloe's head and looks behind to check on the three in the back of the truck.

"We need to keep watch," Emily said with no emotion. She sits down, resuming her previous position, only she's looking down instead of actually keeping watch.

"Emily, it's not your fault," Zeke tells her. Emily looks at him; it was like he could read her mind because she was feeling guilty. It was her shot that sent that _thing_ into Chicago causing him to fall off the truck.

Emily started to say something but was beaten to it when CR cries out, "There's more!" Zeke and Emily look to see three more zombies charging at the back of the truck.

"Be ready, Chlo," Beca tells the redhead. "There's more coming at us."

They can hear the screeches of the zombies as they again close the distance quickly and are almost to the truck before any of the three can react. Zeke momentarily freezes when he sees that one of them is Chicago, a scar across his head where Zeke's round grazed him.

" _How did he change that fast_?" is the last thought Zeke had before finally lifting his gun and shooting his longtime friend and colleague as the newly created Sightless was climbing up over the tailgate. Emily and CR take out the other two with well-placed shots.

Zeke lowers his gun and looks down solemnly, sending up a quick prayer for Chicago. Emily wipes at her tears and CR gathers her in her arms. She can't think of anything to do but hold Emily while she cries. They both jump when they hear another shot. They look back to see Zeke putting his gun back down after shooting one last Sightless which had crawled from under the carriage of the truck.

"Thanks," CR said. Zeke just nods and takes up his position to watch their surroundings. He sits with his back to the two girls so they can't see the tears in his eyes.

Beca and Chloe jump when they hear the last shot as they thought they were in the clear. Beca jerks her head to look in the back but could only see Emily and CR huddled together. Chloe looks in her side mirror to see the zombie fall and tumble away before coming to a stop. It doesn't get back up.

"It was one of those things," Chloe tells Beca. "I think that was the last of them. I'm going to speed up so we can catch up with Brey and Stacie."

Beca yells through the back window for everyone to hold on and then climbs back into the front passenger seat. Chloe checks to make sure everyone is secure and hits the accelerator causing the truck to speed up. They drove for about ten minutes before they saw the van up ahead. Stacie must have seen them coming because she pulls onto the shoulder and stops to wait for them. Chloe pulls in behind her. Beca and Chloe get out of the truck and run back to check on Emily and CR.

"You guys okay?," Beca asks looking at the three occupants.

Stacie and Aubrey come running over from the van. Aubrey hugs Chloe and asks if everyone was okay.

"Where's Chi-," Stacie starts but was stopped by Beca who shook her head. "Oh."

Lily walks over with Sammy and Taylor. Beca looks around at everyone and could see they were all exhausted. It had been a hell of a day.

"Maybe we should try and find someplace to rest for the night," Beca suggests. "We probably have another two hours before we get to Tybee Island but we're all exhausted. If we should run into any more of those things, I don't think we'll make it."

Everyone is listening as they constantly check their surroundings. They didn't want to be sitting idle for too long out here in the open. They all nod in agreement to Beca's suggestion.

Beca looks at Zeke. "Zeke, what do you think? Are you okay with us stopping for the night?"

He looks at Beca and said, "I think it's a good plan. We can take the next exit and find a hotel or something. I could sure use a hot shower _and_ a hot meal."

The others nod in agreement to that idea as well. Aubrey gives Zeke a small smile and he returns it. He may have been in the military for a while and seen a lot of things he wished he hadn't, but Chicago was his friend, his family. He needed to have some privacy so he could mourn for his brother in arms.

Beca wanted so badly to grab Chloe and hold onto her for a while but knew they needed to get moving. It was a somber group that got back into the vehicles. Chloe takes the lead this time and drives until they see signs for lodging. She takes the exit and Beca points out a Ramada Inn. Chloe looks at her with a raised brow.

"What?," Beca asks. "I've always wanted to stay at a Ramada. They have those comfort controlled beds."

Chloe lets out a laugh but cuts it short. It didn't feel right to laugh after what they just went through especially since they lost Chicago. She drives into the Ramada's parking lot and parks right next to the door; Stacie pulls in behind her. They all look around to make sure they didn't have any unwanted visitors before they exit the vehicles.

"Come on, CR, Stacie," Zeke said. "Let's check the inside before the others come in."

"You got it," CR said. She and Stacie follow Zeke as he cautiously opens the door and enters the hotel.

The others stand watch outside. Chloe notices that Emily was just sitting in the back of the truck looking down at her feet. She climbs into the truck bed and sits next to Emily.

"You okay, Em?," Chloe asks the younger girl.

"It's my fault Chicago is gone," Emily whispers. "I shot that _thing_ and knocked him off the truck."

"Oh, sweetie," Chloe said putting her arm around the younger girl's shoulder. "We all know that anything can happen to anyone of us. Unless you actually shot Chicago on purpose, it's not your fault he fell."

"That may be, but it's because of me that Zeke had to shoot his friend," Emily said as she wipes a tear away. "I kind of know how Beca must feel now." Chloe just holds her.

Both women tense when screeches can be heard, but the sounds seem far off at the moment.

The girls are restless and on edge as they wait for Zeke, CR, and Stacie to return. Beca is pacing back and forth, continuously scanning the area. Aubrey walks over to her. "Go sit with Chloe and Emily," she tells Beca. "Lily and I will keep watch. You guys have been through a lot. Take a minute." Beca just nods and gets into the truck. She sits behind Chloe and wraps an around her waist. Chloe leans back into her and sighs. Beca grabs Emily's hand and gives it a squeeze when they hear more screeching far off in the distance.

Sammy and Taylor sit next to each other in the bed of the truck, quietly watching the adults. Sammy is watching Emily as the tears fall down the older girl's face. She gets up and moves to sit in Emily's lap. She lays her head on Emily's chest and puts her arms around her. Emily lets out a sob and grabs the young girl in a hug. Chloe smiles and wipes a tear from her cheek.

Zeke, Stacie, and CR come back after about 30 minutes. "All clear," Zeke tells them. "We made sure all other entrances we could find into the building are locked. It looks like we can lock this one, too. Let's get checked in, shall we?"

Lily takes Taylor's hand to lead her into the hotel. Emily keeps her hold on Sammy and manages to climb out of the truck and carry her into the hotel. Beca gives Chloe a quick hug before they get up and start gathering a few supplies to take in with them. Aubrey continues to keep watch until she sees they are ready to enter the hotel. Beca stops just as she gets to the door and asks, "Do you think we're okay leaving the trucks here?"

"There's a parking garage," CR said. "Let me see if I can open it."

CR grabs Stacie and they head to the parking garage. They manage to open the gate to the garage. Stacie and Chloe drive the two vehicles into the garage, parking them side by side near the stairwell. CR closes the gate and jogs over to the girls. They secure everything and take the stairs to the lobby where the others are waiting.

"All good," Chloe said with a smile. "Now we just need to get into the rooms."

"Well, it's a key card system," Zeke said. "We can't use the computer unless someone can hack into _and_ knows how to key each card to a particular room. We'll just have to break in."

"Hold up," Lily tells him. She goes behind the registration desk and starts opening drawers. One was locked and she uses a pair of scissors she found on the counter to pry it open. "Found them," she said and holds up two key cards. "Master key cards. These should open all of the rooms." She hands one to Chloe and keeps one for herself.

"We should probably stay on the second floor," Beca suggests. "Close to the stairs so we can bug out quickly if we need to."

"That's a good idea," Zeke said.

"Those are the stairs we used to come up from the garage," Chloe said pointing toward the door to the stairwell. "Let's just go up to the second floor from here. Then we can just take the rooms that are closest."

"Let's go," Aubrey said. They grab their stuff and head up the stairs. Once they exit on the second floor, Lily uses the key card to open the first room. It is directly across from the stairs.

"This one has only one bed," Lily said after looking inside.

"I'll take it," Zeke said. "I'll keep the door open so I can hear if anyone, or anything, comes up the stairs."

"Okay," Lily said. She uses the card to open the next room. "Two doubles. I'll take this one with the girls."

Emily, still carrying Sammy, puts the young girl down and smiles and says, "I'll see you later," as Sammy gives her a small wave and walks into the room with Lily. She follows the others and she and CR take the room across from Lily and the girls; it also has two beds. Aubrey and Stacie take the one next to them, and Beca and Chloe take the one across from Stacie and Aubrey.

They all put away their few possessions they brought in with them. Zeke sits alone at the end of his bed, head bowed, hands between his knees. Lily puts the girls on their bed and they start to play a game. CR sits quietly in the chair, eyes closed, head leaning back. Emily just lays on her bed, staring at the ceiling, wiping an occasional tear that falls. Aubrey and Stacie lay on the bed just holding each other. Beca and Chloe are standing in the middle of their room just holding onto each other like they're afraid to let go.

Beca finally pulls back slightly and kisses Chloe. "I'm going to go check out the kitchen to see if there's any food," Beca said quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment. "See if we need to unload anything from the trucks."

"I'll go with you," Chloe said. "We'll come back and let the others know if we find something to fix for dinner. If we don't find anything, then we'll need their help to get the stuff from the van."

They quietly make their way down the hall to the stairs. They go through the dining room and into the kitchen. Chloe checks the freezers and finds a good supply of frozen foods. She pulls out a bunch of chicken pieces and puts them in a pot of cold water.

"What are you doing?," Beca asks.

"After everything we've been through today, we need a more substantial meal than those sandwiches we had earlier," Chloe said. "The cold water will help the chicken defrost faster so we're not eating at midnight. I'm thinking we just bake these and open a can of those vegetables over there. I think I saw some frozen scalloped potatoes in the first freezer. Could you get two of them out, please?"

Beca goes to the freezer and gets the frozen potatoes. She puts them on the counter by Chloe. She leans against the counter and watches as Chloe puts the last of the chicken in the pot. Chloe adds some salt and other spices. "It's to brine them as they thaw," Chloe said by way of explanation. "They should be ready to cook in just about an hour or so."

"Look at you becoming a real chef," Beca said with a laugh. "It's kind of sexy."

"Only _kind of_?," Chloe asks teasingly.

"Okay," Beca said and grabs Chloe around the waist and pulls her to her. " _ **Very**_ sexy."

Chloe leans in and gives Beca a kiss. She pulls back and looks at Beca. "You know you were kind of sexy and hot when you went all badass on Zeke and Chicago earlier. I have a feeling that we are going to become so much closer tonight."

"Definitely," Beca said and kisses Chloe again.

"As much as I'd love to take this up a notch," Chloe said with a grin, "we should let the others know what we're doing." Beca's eyes widen and Chloe lets out a loud laugh. "I meant that we were planning dinner, you perv."

Beca blushes and laughs. "You go tell them. I want to see if I can find some clean tablecloths so I can set a nice table for our dinner. Might be nice to sit down to a real dinner all together with real plates and silverware. Like a family."

"I like the way you think," Chloe said and gave Beca a quick kiss. "I'll be back to help in just a few minutes to help."

Beca let Chloe go and she heads out of the kitchen. Beca starts looking around and finally finds a closet with tablecloths and napkins. She smiles as she grabs a bunch and heads into the dining room.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Chloe comes back 20 minutes later with Aubrey and Stacie. They had offered to help with finishing the dinner preparation. They were chatting casually as they enter the kitchen.

"Hey, Becs," Chloe said and stops when she doesn't see the brunette. She goes through the door to the dining room and didn't see her there either. "Where is she?"

The three girls separate and start looking around for Beca.

"Wait," Aubrey said, having gone to the main dining room entrance. She was looking down at a pile of napkins and tablecloths that were laying on the floor. "Chloe, didn't you say Beca was going to find something to set a nice table with?"

"Yeah," Chloe said walking over to Aubrey. Chloe sees the napkins and tablecloths on the floor and furrowed her brow. She starts looking around frantically. "Where the fuck could she have gone?"

"Beca!," Stacie and Chloe start yelling. "BECA!"

"Stop!," Aubrey yells cutting them off. "We need to get the others because I don't think we're alone here."

Chloe swallows and she and Stacie were suddenly trying to see everywhere at once. They all turn and run to the stairs. Zeke hears them running up the stairs and was at his door with this gun ready by his side. He was relieved when he realized it was the girls and they were okay. Well, not exactly okay, but they weren't being chased by anything or anyone. Stacie runs over and knocks on the doors to get Emily, CR, and Lily to come out.

"What's wrong?," Zeke asks as the others came running out of their rooms.

"Beca's missing," Chloe said, eyes filling with tears. "She was fine when I left her and now she's just gone."

"What do you mean gone?," Emily asks.

"Gone as in not here, Emily," Chloe said, getting in Emily's face. "What the fuck else would I mean?"

"Chloe, calm down," Aubrey said grabbing the redhead by the arm and pulling her away from Emily.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said quietly, running a hand through her hair. She turns to Emily. "I'm sorry, Em. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just so scared." Emily gives her a small smile to let her know it was okay.

"We need to search the hotel again," Zeke said.

"How did you guys miss someone being here when you checked earlier?," Chloe asks, her anger at the situation visible in her voice and her stance.

"We couldn't get into some of the rooms," Zeke explains. "We figured if we couldn't get into them, no one else would be able to. I'm sorry."

This made sense to Chloe and she looked down at the ground to rein in her anger. These guys were not the enemy. She looks at Zeke and nods her head. "I'm sorry. I know you guys did your best."

"It's okay," Zeke said. He turned to Lily. "Lily, you should get back in your room with the girls. Have your weapon at the ready. We have no idea what we may be up against."

"I'll stay with them," Emily said.

"No, Em," Aubrey said. "Chloe should stay with them."

"What? NO!," Chloe exclaims. "I need to help find Beca."

"Chloe, you're too emotional," Aubrey said. "Plus, we don't know what we'll find." She let out a sigh. "It would just be better if you stayed here."

"Brey's right, Chlo," Stacie said. "You know she is. Just stay and help Lily keep the girls safe. Okay?"

Tears came to Chloe's eyes. She knows they are right but it doesn't make it any easier to do.

"Just bring her back," Chloe said, voice thick with emotion.

"We'll do our best," Emily tells her. "Can I get your key card? We may need it."

Chloe nods and hands over the key card. She then follows Lily and the girls to their room. She stops at the door and looks at Aubrey. Aubrey knows what the look means. "I know. We'll do everything to bring her back to you. I promise."

Chloe just nods her head and lets the door close.

"Okay," Zeke said. "CR, you and Emily will stay with me. Stacie and Aubrey, you two team up and if you find anything you come get us and we'll check it out together. Okay?"

Stacie and Aubrey nod and they start down the stairs. Zeke exits the stairwell at the lobby and asks Stacie where Beca was known to be last. Stacie shows him.

"Okay," Zeke said. "We'll go down this hallway. Check every door to see if it will open. If it is keyed, use the key card to enter, but do it carefully. When we get to the end of the hall, you two go right and we'll go left. Everybody ready?"

The four girls nod their heads and Zeke starts moving down the hall. Stacie and Aubrey check the doors on the right and don't find anything. Zeke's team has the same result on the left. They reach the end of the hall and separate. Zeke, Emily, and CR hadn't moved far down the hall when they hear muffled yelling and some screaming. Emily and CR start to run toward the sounds, but Zeke stops them.

"What the hell, Zeke?," CR said. "That could be Beca."

"I know," Zeke said holding the two girls back. "But, we have to do this calmly. It's obvious she's not alone."

Emily and CR both swallow and look at each other. "What do we do?," Emily asks.

"You go get Stacie and Aubrey," Zeke said. "And hurry. We'll wait here. If it sounds like things are getting worse we'll go in and you guys haul ass to back us up."

Emily nods and makes her way back to get Stacie and Aubrey. She tries to hurry and be quiet at the same time. She meets the two older Bellas coming back to rejoin them. "There's only a conference room down that way," Stacie explains. "It's clear."

Emily tells them what they heard and the three hurry back to Zeke and CR.

"We determined the yelling came from in there," CR tells them, pointing at a door up to the left. "It doesn't have a key card lock."

"We're going to stand on either side of the door and I'm going to see if I can turn the knob," Zeke said. "If it's locked we'll have to go in hard and fast, hoping for some element of surprise. If it's unlocked we'll slip in and assess-"

"Wait," Stacie interrupts. "I checked this room when we made the initial sweep. If I remember, this is like a storage room for the kitchen."

"Can you remember the layout?," Aubrey asks.

"Yeah," Stacie responds. "Um, when you first go in there's a small entryway and then another doorway, no door. There were some of those carts with shelves on them, like for trays and stuff, and some carts. There were also some chairs stacked up."

"Anything else?," Zeke asks.

"I think there were a couple of tables," Stacie said, furrowing her brow. "We checked a number of rooms, so I'm not 100% sure that I'm remembering it right. I think this one was the only room unlocked on this side."

Just then they hear, "Stop moving, bitch," and "Grab her fucking legs! Tie her back down."

The girls were all ready to go in guns blazing. Zeke held up his hand and has to be the voice of reason again.

"Look, I know you want to help your friend," Zeke said quietly. "If we rush in without a plan, they may kill her before we get a shot off. Let's do this slow and easy."

The girls all reluctantly nod. He looks at the girls and gives quick instructions on what they should do once he opens the door. Zeke and the girls are at the ready and as Zeke reaches for the doorknob Emily grabs his hand and says, "Wait." Zeke immediately stops and looks at her. Emily just points up to the light above them.

They can hear three distinct voices talking and laughing. They hope that's all there are.

"If we open that door they'll see the light coming in," Emily said. "It will definitely take away our element of surprise."

Zeke gives Emily an impressed look. Before he could say anything, Aubrey was sitting on Stacie's shoulders. She has removed her top shirt and was using it to remove the bulb. It was sufficiently dark enough that they didn't need to remove any more bulbs. Zeke gives them a smile and nods his head.

"Good work," Zeke said. "Let's do this." He reaches for the knob and it turns easily. He softly counts to three. When he hit three he gave a slight push to the door and it opened slightly. They waited to be sure no one heard anything.

With the door open they could hear muffled moans and laughing. Zeke readies his gun and pushes the door open further with his shoulder. The girls quickly and quietly enter finding themselves in a small entryway. It is as Stacie had described and there were some carts blocking their view so they could only see bits and pieces of whoever was in the room. They hoped this als meant that no one in the room could see them. Zeke motions for them to get down. He crawls until he was behind a small stack of chairs. The girls do the same and are hidden by chairs and carts. Looking to the right, Emily taps CR's shoulder and points, mouthing 'Beca'. CR nods her head and they all get ready.

Zeke peeks around the chairs to check every corner of the room. He only sees three men standing by a table with several bottles of liquor on it. To his right Beca is tied to another table, her shirt hanging open in the front and her jeans undone. The men are each holding a liquor bottle and taking drinks from them as they talk about what they are going to do the petite brunette. Zeke and the girls all cringe as they see Beca struggling against the ropes, hearing what the men were saying. Aubrey was ready to kill them with her bare hands. Stacie places a hand on her arm to keep her calm.

"I'm going to shoot the bottle that the guy in the red shirt is holding," Zeke whispers. "When I do, you girls be ready to shoot if they pull guns. Don't hesitate, just do it. They are far enough from Beca she should be safe. Ready?"

The girls nod and Zeke gets ready. He looks up to see when the guy is bringing the bottle to his lips. Just as the bottle is tilted Zeke stands, using the chairs to protect him, and shoots the bottle. Glass and liquor go flying. The girls all jump up and are pointing their weapons at the three guys.

"What the fuck?," the guy yells as the bottle shatters in his hand. The others turn to see where the shot came from. Their eyes grow wide when they spot the five guns pointed right at them.

"I suggest you three put your hands up and don't move," Zeke yells at them. "Emily, you and CR get Beca."

The guys were so drunk they just stood there for a moment, blinking and trying to stay on their feet. In their inebriated state, all three feel a false sense of bravado that is sorely misplaced. They drunkenly move practically as one as each reaches for his gun just as Emily and CR start to move toward Beca. Emily catches their movements out of the corner of her eye and shoves CR out of the way just as all three men fire shots wildly. Stacie, Aubrey, and Zeke react immediately, all firing at the three men. The two volley of shots is deafening in the confined space and the room fills with smoke. They watch as all three would-be rapists fall to the floor.

CR raises herself up by her arms and looks to her left to see Zeke and Stacie running over to the guys to make sure they aren't getting back up. She then looks toward Beca to see Aubrey untying her and pulling the gag from Beca's mouth. She smiles when she sees Aubrey help Beca up, knowing she was safe as well. She looks away when she sees Beca is crying, knowing how the petite brunette hates to have anyone see her cry, no matter the reason. She glances back and sees Beca grab Aubrey. Aubrey puts her arms around Beca and holds her tight while she sobs into Aubrey's shoulder.

CR realizes she doesn't see Emily. "Emily?," she calls out and looks behind her to see Emily lying on the floor, not moving. "NO! No, no, no, no," she cries as she rushes over to Emily and puts her hand over the wound in Emily's right shoulder. "Emily needs help over here," she calls out to the others. She puts her free arm around Emily's shoulders and cradles the unconscious girl as tears stream down her face. "Hold on, Em. Okay? Just hold on."

Stacie and Zeke run over to check on Emily and CR. CR is holding Emily and rocking back and forth. Beca won't let go of Aubrey so Aubrey practically drags her over to the group.

"Hey," Zeke said quietly, getting CR's attention. "I need to check her wound. Okay?"

CR nods and eases Emily down so she's laying flat on the floor. She moves back and sits with her head in her bloodied hands and tears falling down her face. Stacie kneels down and pulls her to her. Zeke rips open Emily's shirt and looks at the wound. He lifts her slightly and sees the bullet didn't exit. "Shit." He looks down at Emily as she moans and starts to stir.

"Emily, I know it's hard but I need you to try not to move too much," Zeke said. "I need to put some pressure on your wound to try and stop the bleeding. I won't lie, it's going to hurt."

Emily groans but nods her head. Zeke pulls off his shirt and folds it several times. He places the shirt on the wound and presses down. Emily lets out an agonized moan and tears fall freely from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Em," Zeke said. "I'm really sorry." He looks at the other girls. "We need to get them both upstairs."

"Lily was pre-med," Aubrey said. "I'm pretty sure she can take of Emily."

"CR and I will take Emily," Stacie said. "I'll carry her. CR you just try and keep the pressure on the wound."

CR wipes at the tears in her eyes and nods. Stacie picks Emily up bridal style and CR takes over for Zeke. Aubrey manages to get Beca moving although neither has let go of the other. They slowly follow Stacie and CR.

"Wait," Zeke said going to the door. "Let me just check to make sure it's clear." He readies his gun and opens the door. He checks both ways before making his way down the hall to where it meets the main hall leading back to the lobby and stairs. Everything was clear and he hurried back to the girls.

"It's clear," Zeke said. "Just be vigilant. I'll be up in a bit."

"What are you going to do?," Aubrey asks.

"I'm going to get rid of these bodies," Zeke said. "We are probably going to have to stay here for a while and they will start smelling up the place if we leave them here."

"Okay," Aubrey said. "I'll come back to help as soon as I get Beca up to Chloe. I think we should stick together and no one does anything alone."

"Roger that," Zeke said giving her a small salute.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again everyone for the reviews, follows, and faves. Also, another shout-out to RJRMovieFan for taking my ramblings and making them so much more exciting. This is a long one but a lot happens so fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.**

* * *

Stacie and CR head out with Aubrey following half dragging, half carrying Beca. The tiny brunette is holding onto Aubrey with one hand and the torn pieces of her shirt with the other. They carefully make their way to the stairs and Stacie tells CR to take Emily's legs so they can get her up the stairs. They make it to the second floor and Aubrey stops them before they enter the hallway.

"Try and be quiet," Aubrey tells them. "I don't want Chloe or Sammy and Taylor running out to see any of this."

Stacie and CR nod and Aubrey opens the door. They enter the hallway and move quietly down the hall.

"Let's put them both in Emily's room for now," Aubrey whispers. "The key card should be in Emily's back pocket."

CR finds the key card and opens the door, holding it for Stacie to carry in Emily and Aubrey to lead Beca in. Aubrey gets Beca to the bed away from the door. She takes off the remains of Beca's torn shirt and grabs another to help her change into. She looks over to the other bed and sees Stacie gently taking Emily's shirt and bra off. Once they're off, she resumes holding pressure to the wound when it starts bleeding again.

"We really need Lily," Stacie said looking over at Aubrey.

"I'll get her," Aubrey tells her. "CR let's wash you up and then you come with me. Chloe will want to come back here to be with Beca. We'll need you to stay with the girls. Okay?"

CR looks over at Emily and feels guilty. "That should be me," she said quietly.

"Hey," Stacie said. "CR? Look at me. This is not your fault. It was those three assholes' fault. One of them shot her, not you. Emily would not want you to blame yourself. Now, go watch over those two little girls. They need you now. We'll take care of Emily."

"Okay," CR said and goes to the bathroom to wash the blood from her face and hands. She comes back out and pulls a clean shirt out of her bag and changes.

Aubrey sits on the side of the bed and looks at Beca. "Do you need anything?," Aubrey asks softly.

"Just Chloe," Beca responds. Aubrey nods and she and CR head out the door. Aubrey doesn't pull the door fully closed so she can get back into the room.

They get to Lily's room and CR knocks and calls out, "It's CR and Aubrey."

The door flies open and Chloe stands in front of them looking scared. "Did you find Beca?"

"We did," Aubrey said grabbing Chloe as she starts to rush out the door. She looks into the room and says, "Lily, I need you to come with us. CR's going to stay with the girls."

"What happened?," Chloe asks, expecting the worst.

"Just come with me," Aubrey said and takes Chloe by the arm and leads her and Lily to Emily and CR's room. She stops outside the door. "Emily's been shot," Aubrey tells them. Chloe gasps and puts her hand to her mouth. "Lily, you were pre-med so we need you to get the bullet out. Can you do that?" Lily nods her head yes and enters the room. Aubrey puts her hand on the door to keep it from closing and grabs Chloe's arm to keep her from entering the room. "Chlo," Aubrey said softly. "Beca's a bit...traumatized. Three guys had her tied up. I'm not going to lie to you but we could hear them talking and they intended to rape her. I believe they were too drunk to do anything but they may have touched her. Her jeans were open and her shirt was practically ripped apart."

Chloe put a hand to her mouth to hold back a sob. Tears fell from her eyes. "I need to see her."

Aubrey nods and they enter Emily and CR's room. She looks to the first bed and sees Lily and Stacie tending to Emily. Stacie apparently pulled the sheet up to cover Emily's naked chest while still allowing Lily access to tend to the gunshot wound. Chloe looks to the second bed and sees Beca just lying there, staring at the ceiling as tears fell from her eyes. Aubrey gives Chloe's arm a squeeze as Chloe starts moving toward Beca. She stops when she reaches the side of the bed and wants nothing more than to climb on and grab Beca in her arms. She was afraid she'd upset Beca more so instead she remains standing and calls her name.

"Becs?," Chloe whispers. There is no response so Chloe clears her throat and calls a little louder. "Becs? Would you look at me please?" Chloe looks down and Beca's head slowly turns to look at Chloe. "Hey," Chloe said and gives a loving smile. "Can I lay next to you?"

Beca looks down at the bed and nods her head. "Okay," Chloe said. "I'm just going to get on the bed okay? And lay next to you." Beca nods her head again and watches as Chloe put one knee on the bed and then the other. She then moves so she was laying on her side with her hands under her cheek, facing Beca.

Chloe lays there next to Beca not saying anything, just looking at her. Beca was staring at the ceiling. Chloe's head pops up to look at the other bed when she hears a loud groan come from Emily. "Is she okay?"

"She will be," Lily said. "I need to go down to the kitchen and get a few things."

"Will she be okay for a little bit?," Aubrey asks. "I told Zeke I'd come back and help him dispose of the bodies. You and Stacie can get what you need. We've decided no one goes anywhere or does anything alone."

"She'll be fine," Lily said. "We should go so we can get back and I can take that bullet out."

"Chlo," Aubrey said and Chloe looks at her. "Are you going to be okay if we leave you guys alone for a little bit?"

"We'll be fine," Chloe said. "I'll keep an eye on her. Just hurry back."

The three girls leave and hurry down to the kitchen. "I'm going to find Zeke," Aubrey said. "Stacie, come to the end of the hall with me and then you can come back here once I'm with Zeke."

Lily starts looking for what she needs to try and get the bullet out. She finds a tray and starts putting things on it. Stacie is back in no time and they take everything back up to Emily.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Aubrey finds Zeke returning from disposing of one of the bodies. She helps him with the second and they take him to an exit at the back of the building.

"There's a dumpster out there," Zeke said. "I need you to hold the door open and stand guard, I didn't like having to leave it propped open. I heard some screeches but they didn't sound close. I just had a bad feeling while I was out there. If you see anything, close this door and get back to the others. Don't worry about me, just go and keep the others safe."

"Zeke," Aubrey said. "I'm not going to leave you out there."

"Aubrey, I'm not going to argue with you about this," Zeke said.

Aubrey wants to strongly insist that she's not going to leave Zeke on his own. She realizes that she needs to help protect Emily and Beca even more now. She just nods her head. "Okay," is all she says and Zeke nods his head in acknowledgment.

Zeke opens the door and pokes his head out quickly to check the area. It looks clear so he throws the body over his shoulder and Aubrey opens the door for him. She stands and continually scans the area while Zeke throws the body into the dumpster with a loud thud.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Lily and Stacie make it back to Emily. Lily calls for Chloe to come help. Chloe is reluctant to leave Beca. Beca can see Chloe hesitate. "Go help Lily," Beca said quietly. "I'm okay. I promise. Emily needs you more than I do right now."

Chloe smiles and slowly leans in to kiss Beca but hesitates at the last second. Beca gives her a smile and closes the distance between them. The kiss is quick and Chloe gets up and goes to help Lily.

"I need you two to hold her down," Lily said as she plugs in extra lamps she's brought to the room. "I have to dig the bullet out and it's going to hurt like hell." She leaves the bulbs uncovered, so the room is extra bright.

Chloe climbs onto the bed and straddles Emily's legs. She tells Stacie to lay her body on Emily's left side, putting extra pressure on her hips and shoulder. Stacie does as Chloe says and puts her leg across Emily's waist resting her foot on Chloe's leg for leverage. Chloe leans over Stacie's leg and grabs Emily's right wrist and forearm, keeping the lower half of her body resting on Emily's legs. Stacie places her hand on Emily's upper arm just above her elbow.

"How's this?," Chloe asks Lily. "Do you have enough room to work?"

"Yes," Lily said. "I'll let you know when you have to really hold her down."

Chloe and Stacie both nod their heads in acknowledgment. Lily picks up a bottle of alcohol and opens it. "Hold her tight," Lily said. Chloe and Stacie both put all they have behind keeping Emily still as Lily pours alcohol on the wound. Emily bucks and groans. Chloe and Stacie hold fast and Stacie uses her torso to keep Emily's upper body from arching off the bed.

"That's good," Lily said nodding at the two girls. "I'm going to dig for the bullet so be ready for anything."

Chloe and Stacie both tighten their holds and nod to Lily. The young Korean woman picks up a small flashlight and turns it on, then holds it with her mouth, directing the light at the wound.

With a deep breath around the flashlight, Lily takes the knife and makes two small incisions on opposite sides of the entry wound. She grabs a towel to wipe away the blood as it starts to bleed more. Emily tries to move and whimpers in pain. Lily ignores this as she carefully inserts the tip of the knife into the hole made by the bullet. She grabs a clean towel to wipe away more blood as it seeps out, hoping it will help her see better. She's anxious because Emily has regained consciousness and is now screaming.

Removing the flashlight Lily grabs another clean towel and hands it to Stacie, saying, "Keep dabbing around the wound. Don't allow the blood to build up," Lily said. Stacie nods and begins to dab. Lily places the flashlight back in her mouth and resumes exploring the wound.

Stacie and Chloe both had tears falling down their faces as they listen to Emily scream. They both look up when Emily's screams were replaced with a soft soothing voice telling her everything was going to be okay. Beca had come over and was kneeling at the head of the bed, lightly running her fingers through Emily's hair and whispering to her. This seems to calm Emily somewhat and the screaming becomes moans and groans. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Got it," Lily awkwardly said around the flashlight, as she locates the bullet. With great precision, she carefully inserts a small pair of tweezers into the wound and ever so carefully takes hold of the metal slug. With deep concentration she extracts the bullet, fighting the urge to rush the job. She spits the flashlight out to the side. "Stacie, grab another clean towel and apply pressure directly on the wound when I remove it," Lily said with authority. Stacie nods and follows instructions. Lily gently extracts the round metal slug. Stacie instantly applies pressure as Lily inspects the bullet. She exhales when she's confident it's in one piece.

She drops the bullet into a small bowl on the table next to the bed and then takes over applying pressure to the wound. "Emily? I'm going to pour some alcohol on the wound to clean it out. Once that's done I'll stitch it up. I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to hurt like a bitch."

"Can I have one of those rags?," Emily manages to choke out. "I want something to bite down on."

Lily smiles and hands Beca a washcloth. Beca folds it several times and places it in Emily's mouth. Emily bites down and nods her head that she's ready. Everyone tightens their positions and Beca starts talking to Emily again. Lily pours more alcohol on the wound and Emily bites down harder on the cloth in her mouth as a muffled moan escapes from somewhere deep in her throat. The bleeding is under control and Lily makes quick work of the stitches. She takes the cloth out of Emily's mouth and Emily let loose with a few 'fucks' and 'shits' before settling back and relaxing somewhat.

"You good, Lily?," Chloe asks. At Lily's nod, Chloe and Stacie let Emily go. They both sit on the bed looking down at the younger girl. "Way to go, Em."

Emily gives her a weak smile. "Thanks," she manages to say.

 ***0*0*0*0***

"Zeke," Aubrey whisper yells to get the young soldier's attention. "We've got company."

"Shit!," Zeke said when he looks back.

At the end of the alley, there were about a half dozen of the Sightless standing about, doing nothing. Just standing there. Zeke keeps his eyes on them as he slowly and quietly backs up until he makes it to the door. He was less than a foot away when the pack started making a loud keening noise. Suddenly, there is a loud screeching and the small pack is being attacked by what looked like two of the Sightless. They rush into the pack and start clawing and biting. Zeke stands there somewhat in shock at what he was witnessing. Aubrey grabs Zeke's arm and was yanking him into the hotel when they hear more screeching sounds a little ways away from the hotel. The two infected stood from the bodies they were attacking and suddenly run off, supposedly to find whatever was making the sounds.

Aubrey practically has to drag Zeke back into the hotel. She pulls the door closed behind them as soon as they were both inside. "What the fuck just happened?," Aubrey asks. "We heard them make that keening noise when we were checking out a school near where we were staying. They were trying to get to the ringing fire alarm. But, I didn't hear anything that would cause them to do that now. And, what was with those other two screeching and attacking them? What the hell is going on?"

"We need to get back to the others," Zeke said. "There's some stuff you need to know."

Aubrey looks at him a bit confused. "What 'stuff'?," she asks.

"It would be better if I told everyone at the same time," Zeke said. "Let's see if we can dump asshole number three before we head back up."

Aubrey watches Zeke as he walks away. She decides to leave it for now and follows him to dispose of the last body.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Beca looks at Chloe. "I need a shower and new clothes."

The redhead nods. "Okay, we can do that." She looks over at Emily and CR. "I'm going to take Beca over to our room so she can shower and change."

"Okay," Emily said.

Cynthia Rose nods. She looks at Beca, worried that the petite woman might be broken. If nothing else she's definitely a fragile human being, in a state of utter despair and shock.

Chloe's very cautious about how she goes about comforting Beca in terms of physicality. She wants to make sure Beca knows she's there, that she knows she's safe, but she doesn't want to be too smothering. It's a fine line she's walking and she makes sure to be attentive to Beca's cues.

"Please take the shower with me."

"W-what?," Chloe manages to say.

"I want to feel safe," Beca answers. "I _need_ to feel safe." She turns away from Chloe and unhooks her bra. Chloe grabs a towel from the bathroom and hands it to the petite brunette. Beca accepts it after taking off her jeans. She wraps it around her waist before sliding her panties off.

Chloe slowly reaches out her hand letting Beca take the lead. Beca takes it and lets Chloe lead her into the bathroom. Chloe goes over to the tub and turns the knobs with her free hand before testing the temperature of the water.

"Please make it hot," Beca said. She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't believe what had happened, what had nearly happened.

It was too much.

The redhead nods and reluctantly lets go of Beca's hand to adjust and check the temperature. When Chloe feels it's right, she turns to Beca and asks, "You ready?"

Beca slowly turns to look at Chloe and after a few awkward seconds, the tiny woman nods. She shuts her eyes and takes off her own towel. She stands and holds her breath.

Chloe walks over to Beca and raises her hand to lightly touch the brunette's shoulder. Beca jumps slightly when Chloe touches her, making the redhead wince. Beca opens her eyes and looks back at Chloe and really sees her. It registers in her brain that Chloe is naked too.

For some reason, this settles Beca a bit. Chloe's equal vulnerability helps the younger woman. She realizes that it's ok. She's safe. She is safe. Her Chloe is right next to her.

They both stand there transfixed by one another yet still cautious. Both knowing what Beca has just been through and that she needs this to be slow and gentle. Chloe notices her DJ's hands are still shaking. She covers the brunette's shaking hands with her own.

Beca almost jumps again when she feels Chloe's familiar hand intertwine with hers, but she's able to stifle the urge. It's then Chloe notices the bruises on Beca's wrists. Bruises left from the ropes Beca was tied with. Bruises that show the strength with which the brunette struggled. Chloe brings Beca's hands up to her lips and gently brushes them over the younger woman's wrists. Beca looks up, her eyes pleading with her to never let go. Chloe gives her a reassuring smile.

With the same gentle smile and a gentler tug of her hand, the redhead leads Beca across the cold white tiles of the bathroom floor to the shower. Chloe then moves the shower curtain aside for them to step in, and they carefully enter together. Chloe releases one of Beca's hands to pull the shower curtain closed. Beca's back is to the shower head and Chloe gently takes Beca's hand again and steps toward Beca to let her move back so she is under the water's spray.

The petite woman lets out a soft sigh when she feels the hot water on her shoulders. Beca feels frozen, suddenly afraid of any kind of skin-to-skin contact that might occur.

Chloe senses this and maintains space between them. She can see the tears falling down Beca's face, so she just stands back, continuing to hold the younger woman's hands, letting her know she's there.

After a few minutes she asks, "Can I wash your hair?"

Beca only nods and turns her back toward Chloe. Chloe grabs one of the small bottles of shampoo the hotel provides. She squeezes some shampoo into her palm and begins working it through Beca's wet hair. Beca has her eyes closed and just stands there while Chloe continues to massage the shampoo into her long brown hair. After a couple minutes Beca turns around and bends her head back to wash the shampoo out.

A tremble of a sob comes from between Beca's lips, and suddenly she does need human contact, she needs to feel Chloe close to her. With a stifled sob, she steps into Chloe, burying her face in the taller woman's shoulder.

The world shifts in a wordless emotional tidal wave. Tears run down Beca's face and she begins to sob out loud. "Everything is going to be alright. Everything is going to be okay." Chloe keeps murmuring her sympathies to the distraught brunette.

"You're okay and safe, and I am here for you," Chloe whispers. She begins to rub circles on the smaller woman's back.

"I know. It still doesn't stop me from remembering everything," Beca replies in a whisper and pulls back slightly to look at the redhead.

Chloe leans forward and her lips gently meet Beca's. She can feel the younger woman lean further into the kiss. There is no desire in it; just comfort and love. It's simply a gentle reminder that they're both still alive.

They end up kneeling in the tub, still wrapped around each other, the hot spray of the shower raining down on them. Chloe just keeps whispering her encouragement as Beca sobs in her arms.

When the tiny DJ seems to have settled down a bit, Chloe starts to sing to her.

 _You shout it out_  
 _But I can't hear a word you say_  
 _I'm talking loud not saying much_  
 _I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet_  
 _You shoot me down, but I get up_

Her singing is soft, just above a whisper; only for Beca, who seems to respond by relaxing into Chloe more.

 _I'm bulletproof nothing to lose, Fire away, fire away_  
 _Ricochet, you take your aim_  
 _Fire away, fire away_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall_  
 _I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium_

This song has always been special for the pair. The history of which only they knew. It was the first time they bonded. Beca looks up into Chloe's blue eyes and sees love, and it hits her that even after everything that's been done to her, Chloe stills loves her.

 _Cut me down_  
 _But it's you who has further to fall_  
 _Ghost town, haunted love_  
 _Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones_  
 _I'm talking loud not saying much_

Beca has always loved Chloe's voice. It's soothing for her, and hers melds so well with it. She doesn't even make a conscious decision, she just starts singing along with the redhead.

 _I'm bulletproof nothing to lose_  
 _Fire away, fire away_  
 _Ricochet, you take your aim_  
 _Fire away, fire away_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall_  
 _I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall_  
 _I am titanium, I am titanium_

The words of the song have always suggested strength to Beca, a strength of character she's always felt she had. It's why it was one of her favorite songs even before her encounter with Chloe.

 _Stone-hard, machine gun_  
 _Firing at the ones who run_  
 _Stone-hard, thus_ bulletproof _glass_

Now Beca questions her strength, questions if she's broken. Yet feeling Chloe tight against her, and hearing her sing this song does help fill Beca with a modicum of hope. She closes her eyes and just stays in this moment.

 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _I am titanium_

It isn't until Chloe reaches back and turns the water off that Beca even opens her eyes again.

Chloe reaches out and grabs a towel to wrap her tiny DJ in. She then wraps one around herself and takes another and starts patting Beca dry.

Once they are dry and back in the bedroom, Chloe grabs Beca one of her shirts and hands it to her. Beca moves over to the bed and sits on the edge looking up at Chloe while the redhead puts on sweatpants and a t-shirt. Chloe then finds panties and sweats for Beca and walks over to the bed to sit beside her. She helps her love dress and when she looks at Beca's face she realizes there is a hint of a smile on her lips.

"You sang to me," Beca whispers.

"I did," Chloe whispers back.

Not wanting to end the moment, Beca whispers out a "Thank you."

She hears Chloe whisper back, "It's ok, Becs. We're in this together."

With those words, Chloe wraps her arm around the petite brunette even tighter. They both know tomorrow and the days to come are going to be hard. They both know the world they live in holds little promise. They both know that for right now they have each other so they also have hope.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Emily was sitting up on the bed drinking some water when Beca and Chloe return. Stacie had helped her put on a shirt. Lily had put her arm in a sling and given her some painkillers to help ease some of her pain. She was pale and feeling very weak but not bad considering how it could have turned out. She looks over to see CR sitting in the chair across the room looking everywhere but at Emily.

Chloe, seeing how uneasy CR was, asks Beca if she's up to helping with dinner.

"Well, we did take that chicken out to thaw," Beca said. "Maybe we should all just go down to the kitchen. We can cook and the others can keep us company. You know, if they want to."

"I think that's a great idea," Chloe said sensing Beca's reluctance to return to the kitchen. "We can actually eat at a decent time."

"I don't know guys," Emily said. "I'm really not feeling up to much right now. Maybe CR and I can stay here and come down when dinner's ready. Is that okay with you CR?"

"Um, yeah, sure," CR mumbles.

Emily sighs and looks at CR. "CR, would you please come over here?" CR gets up and slowly makes her way over to the bed. Emily pats the bed next to her indicating CR should sit down. Once CR is seated, Emily takes her hand to lift CR's chin so she would look at her. "Will you please stop blaming yourself? This is not your fault. You didn't do this to me."

"But if I had been quicker you wouldn't have had to shove me out of the way," CR said as tears fell from her eyes.

"And if I had shot in a different direction, Chicago would still be alive," Emily counters. "CR you are like a sister to me." Emily takes CR's hand and holds it tight. "All of you are. I would have done the same thing for the others if it meant I could stop them from getting hurt."

"I'm sorry," CR said.

"Don't apologize," Emily said. "It's not your fault. That's what you told me about Chicago. Were you lying to me?" CR doesn't say anything and Emily lets out a sigh. "You're hurting yourself by not forgiving yourself. And I'm not going to let you do that. So, wipe those tears and stay here and watch me sleep while Beca and Chloe go make dinner. Okay?"

CR looks at Emily. She smiles through her tears when she only sees sincerity and love in Emily's eyes. "Okay, little sis," CR said. Emily smiles back at her.

Beca and Chloe smile at their two friends. "We'll send someone up to get you when we're ready to eat," Chloe tells them.

CR knows Emily is weak from blood loss so she suggests that maybe they could just get room service. Chloe laughs and agrees that they will send up plates for the two when everything was ready.

Beca and Chloe leave and go to Lily's room. Stacie was in Lily's room when they stop to tell her what they were planning to do. Stacie helps Lily get Sammy and Taylor ready and then all went down the stairs as a group. Just as they reach the kitchen they see Zeke and Aubrey coming out, bottles of water in hand.

"What's going on?," Aubrey asks, seeing all of them together.

"We're going to make dinner," Chloe said. "You two should join us."

Zeke shrugs his shoulders and follows the group back into the kitchen.

"We're going to have baked chicken, corn, and scalloped potatoes," Chloe said. "Aubrey, would you and Stacie set a table in the dining room for us?"

"Where's Emily?," Aubrey asks. "Is she okay?"

"She's really tired," Chloe tells her. "She and CR are having room service this evening."

Aubrey smiles at that and says, "Come on, Stace. Let's go set a nice table."

"Hey, Taylor," Stacie said. "Why don't you and Sammy come help us."

"Okay," Taylor said and she and Sammy follow Aubrey and Stacie into the dining room.

"I'll help them," Lily said and left the kitchen.

After Lily was gone, Zeke turns to Beca. "Beca, so, um, how are you doing?," Zeke asks.

Chloe sees Beca tense and puts her hand on Beca's lower back. Beca flinches slightly but appreciates the reminder that Chloe is there for her. Beca looks at Zeke and gives him a small smile. "I'm fine." Zeke just looks at her. "Considering what could have happened, I'm great. Seriously. I mean it was scary but thank God they were too drunk to do much more than, um, grope me. And, I haven't said it to any of you yet, but thank you. For finding me and taking care of those guys."

Zeke just nods his head and looks down at the ground.

"Don't worry about her, Zeke," Chloe said. "Trust me, I've known her for a long time and the 'I'm fine' she just gave you really means she's fine." She looks at Zeke and can see he is still struggling with what he had to do to Chicago. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," Zeke said with a shrug. "The army teaches you how to detach yourself when you have to shoot or kill someone."

"I know," Chloe said walking over and pulling Zeke into a hug. "But he was your friend. It's different."

Zeke nods and hugs Chloe back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Chloe said as she pulls back from the hug. "Any time."

"Um, so when's dinner going to be ready?," Zeke asks.

"Probably 35-40 minutes once the chicken and potatoes are in the oven," Chloe said. "I say we have a glass of wine while we wait."

"I'll second that," Beca said. "Zeke, why don't you go ahead and ask Aubrey to pick out a couple of bottles for us. She knows a thing or two about wine."

"Will you two join us?," Zeke asks. "There's some stuff I really need to fill you girls in on."

"Definitely," Chloe said. "Give us about ten minutes to get everything in the oven and we'll be right in."

Zeke nods his head and left Beca and Chloe alone in the kitchen. After he was gone, Beca looks and asks, "What do you think he is going to tell us?"

"I don't know," Chloe said. "But he's in the military. I have a feeling they've been up to something and he knows exactly what."

Beca helps Chloe get the chicken and the scalloped potatoes in the oven. They set the timer for 40 minutes.

"When there's five minutes left I'll come check on the chicken and heat up the corn," Chloe said.

"Great," Beca said wiping her hands. "Let's go get some wine."

Beca follows Chloe out to the dining room to find everyone sitting around the table. Aubrey gets up and pours them both a glass of wine and hands it to them. They each take their glass and join the others at the table.

"So, what's going on Zeke?," Chloe asks. "What is it you want to tell us?"

"Can one of you get Emily and CR?," Zeke asks. "I think they should hear this, too."

"I'll get them," Stacie said. Aubrey gets up, "I'll go with you."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Chloe was chatting with Lily and the two youngest girls while they waited. Beca was sitting quietly, mostly staring into the wine in her glass. Zeke was also sitting silently as he waited for the other girls to return with Emily and CR.

About fifteen minutes later, Stacie and CR are helping Emily into the dining room. Aubrey is following behind. The all sit down and look at Zeke. Zeke looks back at them and takes a moment to gather his thoughts before he starts.

"If you have any questions while I'm talking, just go ahead and ask them, okay?," Zeke said. The girls all nod and Zeke continues. "Chicago and I are, were, attached to Fort Benning. The Defense Department had us going out on patrol every day and night. Our objective was to capture as many of the infected as we could."

"Why?," Stacie asks.

"To study them," Zeke replies. "They thought they could test them to find out what caused the infection and find a cure or an antidote."

"What did they find out?," Aubrey asks.

"Not much, until about five or six weeks ago," Zeke said. "They had a breakthrough and figured out how the disease spread so fast. It was through saliva. The thing that threw the scientists and doctors was that it was only transmitted if the saliva got into the bloodstream. It wasn't transmitted by infected blood or any other bodily fluid, just the saliva. If they bite you, even if they only scratched the skin, you could get infected."

"If you only get it from the saliva," Emily asks, thinking as she spoke. "How did it spread so quickly? I mean not everyone could have been bitten to get it. Could they?"

"They don't really know," Zeke said. "Or at least they didn't tell us. I think it spread because there are so many ways for the saliva to get into the bloodstream"

"Like how?," Emily asks.

"I don't really know for sure," Zeek responds. "I just feel like it can be transmitted through something like a cut or sore that wasn't healed. Or kissing if you didn't know someone was already infected. Or even if you got it in your eyes from a cough or something. Just anyway the saliva, even a small amount, could get into the bloodstream and work its way to the brain. That's why it affects the hearing and eyesight."

"How do they know all that?," Beca asks. Her eyes widen at the thought that came to her. "Wait. Did they put non-infected people in with the infected? Is that how they figured it out?"

"Yes, they did," Zeke said looking down. He hesitated slightly before he continued. "They, um, found a prison where the inmates weren't infected and used them to test out their theories."

"Shit," CR said. "That's messed up."

"I agree," Zeke said. "Many of us disagreed with what they were doing, but considering we didn't know how the disease was spreading, it was, for lack of a better description, a necessary evil. They found out a lot by using those folks, um, inmates."

"So, if they know that it's the saliva and the possible ways it was transmitted, did they figure out how to cure it or treat it so people stopped getting it?," Beca asks.

"They thought they had a couple of times," Zeke said. "In order to test it, they again would put someone into the situation where they would become infected. They would then give them the antidote and watch to see if anything happened. The first batch was useless. Nothing happened. By the third batch, they noticed that the person was still infected but they were more advanced. That's what those things were that chased your truck and attacked the others earlier in the alleyway. They must have escaped from the base somehow. They have superior hearing and are far more dangerous."

"So, in trying to find a cure, they actually made them into some kind of super-infected?," Aubrey asks.

"Something like that," Zeke said. "The last batch they were working on actually worked. The infected were returning to almost normal. All of them, even the 'super' infected."

"Almost normal?," Stacie asks. "What does that mean? Were they human again?"

"Yeah," Zeke said. "Well, they weren't infected anymore but they remained blind. The doctors don't think that anything will help with the blindness. The Defense Department asked the doctors if they could make the cure into a mist that could be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. They want to fly over the country spraying everyone with the mist, hoping to stop the infection and 'heal' people."

"Like crop dusting them?," Chloe asks.

"Something like that," Zeke said.

"So, have they started?," Chloe asks.

"I don't know," Zeke said. "They were still talking about it when Chicago and I got separated from our unit."

"How exactly did that happen?," Stacie asks. "You guys have all the weapons and manpower."

"That's true," Zeke said. "But we weren't expecting to be ambushed by non-infected civilians. It took us totally by surprise."

"So, what actually happened?," CR asks.

"I can't believe it was only a week ago," Zeke said shaking his head. "We were out on patrol when we were attacked by a group of civilians. They were scared and angry. You may have noticed that most of the areas we've been in, including this hotel, have power. The military made sure that any power stations within thirty miles of any military base were fully manned. They diverted all the power to the bases and the surrounding area. This left many areas without any power, so there was no way to have lights, keep food, or even have hot water. The group that attacked us wanted power restored to their area and thought attacking us would get the Defense Department to turn their power back on. In the attack, Chicago and I got separated from our squad. We were outnumbered and outgunned so we hunkered down until it was safe to move."

"How long were you hunkered down?," Emily asks.

"Three days," Zeke tells her. "The people who attacked us believed that the lack of power would cause the non-infected to die off sooner than the infected from lack of food and such. I understand why they attacked us. I only wish we could have kept power to everyone but we really didn't have the manpower. Chicago and I didn't want to go back to the base so when we read a flyer about the survivor camps we opted to head to one of those."

"So, what now?," Aubrey asks. "Are there really survivor camps? Or are we taking ourselves on a wild goose chase to find one?"

"We only know what we read on the flyers about those camps," Zeke said in all honesty. "Just like you, we decided to try and make our way to one. Now, I'm not sure what we'd find if we make it to one. We might be better off just staying here and waiting it out."

"If they are able to spray this mist they've developed," Lily said, speaking up for the first time. "Will it do anything to those of us who are not infected?"

"No," Zeke said. "They tested the vaccine on non-infected civilians and there were no adverse reactions. The day we were attacked, it had been ten days and everyone who got sprayed, both infected and non-infected, was still fine when we left to go on patrol. If things continued to go according to the plan, the DOD should be starting the flyovers any day. At least, that's my best guess."

"If that's the case, I think we should stay here," Lily said. "Wait it out for now. Give it a week and see if the, what did you call them? Flyovers?" At Zeke's nod, Lily continues. "See if the flyovers start. If they do, we'll have to go on patrol and see if we can find any of the infected that are cured. Because, even if they are cured of the infection, they will be most likely remain blind and will need help."

"I agree with Lily," Emily said. "I think it's the best and safest thing to do. Plus, I won't be able to do much if we were to run into any Sightless. I'd rather pull my own weight."

The others all nod their heads in understanding and agreement. There's a buzzing coming from the kitchen and Beca jumps up to check on dinner.

Chloe notices how Beca hasn't said anything for a while. She watches as Beca heads into the kitchen. "I'm just going to go help Beca." She stands and leaves the others in the dining room. She walks in as Beca was removing the chicken from the oven.

"Smells pretty good," Chloe said. "If I do say so myself." Beca gives her a small smile. Chloe walks around the food prep table and grabs a couple cans of corn. She opens them and empties them into a pot to heat up. Beca pulls the potatoes out of the oven. Chloe looks over at her with some concern. Beca hasn't said anything since her initial questioning of Zeke.

"Hey," Chloe said causing Beca to look at her. "You okay?"

Beca lets out a heavy sigh. "It's just. Listening to Zeke it makes me wonder if I hadn't. . .if I had let Jesse change. . .maybe he would have had a chance to be human again."

Chloe sees tears falling down the brunette's face and goes over and pulls Beca into a hug. Beca doesn't tense up and actually falls into the hug, needing the comfort Chloe provides. "Oh, sweetie. You can't think like that. There's no guarantee that he would have been lucky enough to be a real human again. Plus, he would be blind. Would you really want that for him?"

"No, I guess not," Beca said. "It's just sad for everyone. Why didn't we start working on a vaccine or an antidote when this infection started in other countries? If it spread that fast everywhere else, what made our leaders think that it wouldn't happen here?"

"That's the age-old question, Becs," Chloe said. "We just automatically went on the defensive and stopped people from those countries from entering the U.S. instead of going on the offensive and trying to prevent people here from getting sick."

"I guess we should take some comfort in the fact that they're finally doing something about it," Beca said. "I wonder if the military is now running the country. Do we even have a President or a Vice President? How far down the line of succession will we have to go if this new mist thing works?"

"Lots of very good questions," Chloe said. "Some we won't know the answers to for a while I'm guessing."

Beca becomes quiet and Chloe feels some concern. She pushes a stray hair behind Beca's ear and kisses her forehead. "It's been quite a day. Are you really okay?"

"Well," Beca said and looks at Chloe. "Considering I've been through two intense Sightless attacks, finding Lily after thinking she was dead, finding Zeke and Chicago only to lose Chicago, and being basically kidnapped and groped by three junk assholes, I'm doing peachy."

"Beca," Chloe said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Chlo," Beca tells her and smiles. "Seriously, I'm fine. If I can get through all that _and_ having you sing your lady jam to me because you were excited about a new truck all in one day, hell I can get through anything."

"You loved it when I sang to you in the truck," Chloe said, feigning offense.

"Keep telling yourself that, Beale," Beca said with a laugh. She broke off the laugh and turned serious, saying, "I loved it when you sang to me in the shower though; it helped. I really am okay, Chlo. I promise."

"I'm glad," Chloe said and gives Beca a big smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Beca looks at Chloe and gives her a kiss, which Chloe gladly reciprocates. "Now enough of this mushy stuff. You'd better check on the corn. I'll get a cart so we can take everything out to the dining room."

Chloe hurries over to the corn and takes it off the stove and pours it into a serving bowl. She puts the bowl on the cart. She helps Beca get everything else together and they wheel the cart into the dining room.

"Dinner is ready!," Chloe says with an excited 'woo-hoo' thrown in for good measure.

Everyone laughs at the bubbly redhead and settle down to a nice dinner. After everyone is satisfied, they sit back and Zeke looks at Lily.

"Lily?," Zeke calls to her.

"Yeah," Lily says back.

"You have a master key to the rooms, right?," Zeke asks. At Lily's nod he continues, "I was thinking we should check the other rooms for anything usable. Like laptops or phones. Maybe we can check the DOD website to see if there are any notices or messages."

'That's a good idea," Aubrey said. "How many master keys are there, Lily?"

"I only took two out of the drawer," Lily said. "There were more but I don't know how many. I'll go check."

Lily gets up and heads out to the front desk to look for the key cards.

"Do you think we'll be able to connect to the internet?," Stacie asks.

"I'm hoping so," Zeke tells her. "I know the DOD was trying to keep all forms of communication, including email, up and running. I think we have a fair shot."

"I'm thinking we should check each floor in pairs," Aubrey said. "It will be faster and we can bring whatever we find back to Lily's room so we can check it out. I also suggest that Emily and Lily stay in Lily's room with the girls." Seeing Emily about to argue, Aubrey adds, "The girls really trust Lily and you should rest as much as possible. Plus, I think Sammy is worried about you."

Emily looks at the young girl and she is staring back at her with wide eyes. Emily smiles at her and Sammy gives her a grin.

"Brey's right, Em," Beca said. "Chloe and I will pair up."

"I'll work with Aubrey," Stacie said.

"Guess that leaves you and me, GI Joe," CR said with a smile at Zeke.

"I'm honored," Zeke said and smiles back at CR.

Lily comes back holding four more master key cards. She hands one to Emily, Zeke, Aubrey, and Stacie. Emily immediately hands hers over to CR.

"You and I are going to stay with Sammy and Taylor," Emily tells Lily.

"Maybe we should just check the second floor tonight," Stacie suggests. "It's going to take some time to check every room in the hotel. We might get lucky and find a laptop or something and not have to look anywhere else."

"It's already late," Beca said. "Maybe we should just wait until the morning."

"I think checking tonight is a good idea," Chloe said. She takes Beca's hand. "If we all help, it won't take long."

Beca nods and says, "Yeah, okay."

Chloe can sense that Beca is apprehensive about possibly finding more people hiding out somewhere in the hotel. She gives Beca's hand a comforting squeeze.

"Can you also check for some clothes for the girls?," Lily asks. "Sammy and Taylor don't really have anything more than what they are wearing."

"We'll do that," Chloe said and smiles at the two girls.

"Maybe we should just gather up everything that we think might be useful," Beca suggests. "I could use some different clothes. I doubt I'd find any shoes in my size, but it's worth a look."

"If you find some kids stuff you could probably find some shoes to fit," Emily said with a grin as the rest of the girls laugh.

"So not cool, Em," Beca said, her smile showing she knew Emily was just joking.

"Hey, CR," Aubrey said. "How about you, me, and Stacie clean up and do the dishes?"

"You got it," CR said and starts clearing the dishes from the table.

Stacie and Aubrey follow suit and it wasn't long before the table was cleared. Taylor and Sammy were whispering to each other and then Sammy whispered something to Emily. Chloe looks over at them.

"What are you three whispering about over there?," Chloe asks smiling at them.

"Sammy wants to know if we can have some ice cream," Taylor said softly.

"Yeah," Emily said. "I want some ice cream, too."

"I think that can be arranged," Chloe said with a wink. "I'm pretty sure we saw some in the freezer earlier. I'll go check."

"Yay!," Sammy and Taylor yell causing everyone else to laugh. Chloe goes to check on the ice cream.


	7. Chapter 7

After eating their ice cream and cleaning up the dessert dishes, the rag-tag group head up to the second floor. CR helps Emily as she follows Lily, Sammy, and Taylor to their room. CR rejoins the others as they search the rooms on the floor.

Chloe was right, it didn't take long at all. Some of the rooms were clean, like people checked out like it was any normal day. Others had most of the occupants stuff left behind. None of them wanted to think about why. In one room CR scores. The room must have been occupied by a pharmaceutical representative, because there was a case of meds. Looking to the sky, CR says a silent prayer of thanks.

With an air of excitement and hope, they all return to Lily's room to find Emily sitting up on the bed with Sammy tucked in next to her and Taylor sitting on the other side of Sammy. They were giggling about something when Lily answered the door to let the others in. They came in carrying the medicine case, several laptops, a couple of phones, and clothes.

"We found some clothes that might fit the girls," Aubrey said handing Lily a bag.

"We also found a case of medications," CR said holding up the black case.

"Set it over there," Lily said and pointed to the end of the bed, "and open it."

Cynthia Rose does as she's told. It's an impressive collection of medicine bottles. Lily starts looking through them, checking names, reading the descriptions and glossy brochures. She smiled as she reads one. "This is great! CR, could you get a bottle of water for Emily?"

CR smiles and races over to get a bottle of water. She comes back and hands the bottle to Emily.

"Thank you," Emily said as she took the water.

Lily breaks open a medicine container and takes out a large white pill. "Here Emily, take this," she said as she handed the pill to the injured woman. She pointed to the water bottle and said, "And drink the whole bottle."

Emily looks at her questioningly. Lily smiled to reassure the younger woman. "It's an antibiotic. It'll protect against infection." Emily smiled as she took the pill and then drank down the bottle.

As this was going on, Zeke had taken the laptops to check them out; he finds most of them are dead, though he does open one that had been found still plugged in and charging. He was immediately frustrated because it needed a password to open. Aubrey takes the laptop and turns to Lily.

"Lily?," was all Aubrey said.

Lily takes the laptop and less than five minutes later had it unlocked. Zeke looks at her with a raised eyebrow causing Lily to shrug her shoulders.

"Don't ask," Stacie said.

"Let's check it out," Zeke said and sets the laptop on the desk. He types in the URL for the Defense Department and said, "Here goes nothing," as he hit enter.

The DOD website came up and everyone got excited. On the front page of the site were some links to emergency messages.

One of the messages caught all their eyes. It said "Attention Survivors" and Zeke clicks on the link.

 _ATTENTION ALL SURVIVORS OF THE INFECTION: If you have survived the outbreak that has befallen the United States, please make your way to the nearest military base. We have food and accommodations to keep you comfortable and safe. Bring whatever canned foods and bottled water you can to help replenish our food shelves._

 _Click_ _here_ _to find the bases nearest to you._

"So, the military bases are the real survivor camps?," Beca asks.

"Looks like it," Zeke said. "We had a few people show up at Ft. Benning. I didn't know it was because DOD identified our base as a safe place. We were just told that any survivors that came to the base were to be allowed on."

"There's a message from two days ago," Stacie said, pointing it out on the screen. Zeke clicks on the link and Chloe reads the message out loud.

 _Military aircraft will be flying over the Eastern United States beginning in four days time. It is requested that all citizens remain calm and stay indoors. The aircraft will be spraying a vaccine mist over the entire area to stop the spread of the infection that has taken over many of our citizens. Please be advised that this vaccine will not harm those not infected. In the unlikely event you should have any adverse reactions to the mist, please seek medical assistance at any military base in your area. They are equipped to handle any and all your medical needs._

"Well, it looks like you were right, Zeke," Aubrey said. "They're going to start to administer the vaccine."

"Do you think we should find a military base for safety?," Emily asks.

"I think our best bet is to stay here for now," Zeke said. "I have a feeling that the bases may be overloaded if any survivors were able to get these messages. We only got a few while I was still at Fort Benning, but they may have stopped accepting folks because of the testing they were doing to find a vaccine."

"Why didn't we know about this earlier?," CR asks.

"We didn't know we had internet access," Aubrey said. "I know I didn't bother checking my phone after the first day when I wasn't able to get any kind of signal. I guess I succumbed to what I saw in movies where the zombies attack and kill everyone, power is out everywhere, and all forms of communication are knocked out leaving the world in total chaos."

"The military made sure all forms of communication were operational as soon as they could," Zeke said. "As far as I know, they have control over all the communications satellites and power companies. They want to ensure that communications remain open across the country."

"This is pretty funny," Emily said, emitting a sad laugh. "I keep waiting for zombies to just pop up and start trying to eat our brains or something. Or the lights to suddenly go out." The others nod their heads in agreement. "This really is nothing like the zombie movies I've seen."

"Let's just hope this vaccine mist works," Beca said. "If any of those infected had transformed beyond those that we saw, we could still be in for a long road to getting back to what could be considered normal."

"Hey," Chloe exclaims. "It says _Contact DOD_ at the bottom of the message with an email address. Do you think someone is monitoring the In Box for mail? Should we send a message? Let them know we're out here. Maybe find out if we're in an area where they're going to do the flyovers?"

"That's a good idea, Chlo," Aubrey said.

"I agree," Zeke said having already clicked the link. "I'll send it under my military email." He proceeds to type the email as the girls read it over his shoulder, often suggesting some edits or changes. Once they all seem satisfied, Zeke hits send. "Well, I guess now we wait to see what happens."

Sammy and Taylor start yawning, causing one or two of the adults to follow suit.

"Maybe we should all turn in," Chloe suggests. "It's really late and it's been a long and eventful day."

"That's putting it mildly," Beca mumbles. "We need to have a watch."

The others agree.

"I'll take the first watch," Zeke said.

"I'll take over in two hours," CR volunteers.

"I got next," Stacie said.

"Then I got next," Aubrey said.

Chloe held her hand up. "I'll take next…"

Beca raises a hand to cut her off. "We'll take next."

Chloe smiles. "We'll take next."

With that decided, everyone gets up to head for their rooms. Before Emily can get up from the bed, Sammy stops her.

"You sleep here?," Sammy asks quietly. "With us? We can take care of your boo-boo."

"That's probably a good idea, Em," Lily said. "I'll be here to keep an eye on you in case, you know, you need some help."

"I'd love to stay with you guys," Emily said with a smile.

The other were bidding each other a good night when Aubrey stopped them. "Beca, Chloe, you should wake the others at the end of your watch," she suggests. "That way we can have breakfast together before we start checking the rest of the rooms."

"Sounds good" and "Okay" was thrown out by the group. Beca and Chloe enter their room, Beca carrying some of the clothes that had been found in their earlier search.

"Here," she said to Chloe, handing her a long t-shirt. "You can wear this to bed."

"Thanks," Chloe said taking the shirt. She starts pulling off her shirt and Beca turns her head away.

Just as they were done changing, there was a knock on the door. They both went to see who it was. Chloe pulls the door open to find Stacie standing there.

"Hey," Stacie said. "Lily found a bunch of toothbrushes and other stuff in a supply closet. Here." She hands Chloe a bag. Chloe is surprised at the weight. Stacie said, "It's also got shampoo and soap, as well as clean towels and stuff in it."

"Thanks," Beca said. "I usually like a nice shower in the morning to wake me up."

Stacie just smiles and says good night. Chloe closes the door and Beca says, "Why don't you use the bathroom first. I'll change and can brush my teeth when you're done."

Chloe thanks her and takes the bag into the bathroom. She comes out about 15 minutes later and Beca goes in. Chloe takes off her jeans, opting to sleep in just a shirt. She pulls back the blanket and top sheet and lays down on the bed to wait for Beca to finish in the bathroom. She falls asleep in seconds.

Beca exits the bathroom and a small smile came to her lips when she saw Chloe asleep on the bed. She turns off the bathroom light and makes her way to the bed. She climbs in and pulls the sheets up over them. She clicks off the bedside lamp and lays on her back next to Chloe. She too falls asleep almost immediately.

Chloe woke from a deep sleep when she felt Beca thrashing around next to her. She sat up in the bed and clicked on the light. Beca was flailing about yelling "No" and "Stop." She has tears streaming down her face and Chloe grabs her to try and calm her down. Chloe strokes Beca's hair and gently calls her name. "Beca. Wake up, sweetie. It's Chloe. You're safe. Please wake up, okay? It's okay. You're safe. You're safe. I'm here." She smoothes a hand over Beca's head and she finally starts to calm down. Beca practically melts into Chloe's arms. "It's okay," Chloe whispers.

Beca holds onto Chloe and continues to cry for a few minutes. She finally calms down and was just sniffling and wiping her tears.

"I'm sorry," Beca whispers. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't apologize, Becs," Chloe said. "It was a nightmare. You're safe now. I'm here and no one's ever going to hurt you. I promise." She pauses for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Beca said and sniffles again. "Can you just hold me for a while?"

"I'll hold you forever," Chloe said and pulls Beca tighter to her.

"Can we just go back to sleep?," Beca said. "It's still early and I'm kind of tired."

"Absolutely," Chloe said. She lets Beca get settled before she gathers in her arms. Beca turns on her side and lets Chloe spoon her. "Better?"

"Much," Beca said and sighs. "Thanks."

Chloe kisses Beca's shoulder and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Chlo," Beca said and drops off to sleep.

Chloe snuggles in closer and goes back to sleep as well.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Beca and Chloe are still snuggled together when they are awakened by a knock on the door. Chloe sees the bedside lamp is on and remembers Beca's nightmare. She makes a mental note to ask her about it later. The knock comes again and Chloe stretches as Beca burrows back under the covers. Chloe smiles and gets up and goes to the door.

"Good morning, guys," Chloe said seeing Aubrey and Stacie standing there. She opens the door wider and motions for them come in. "Is it our turn?"

"Nope," Stacie answered.

"We decided to let you both sleep," Aubrey said.

"What? Why?," Chloe asked.

Stacie looks down at the floor as she answered. "I heard Beca last night." She looked over at Aubrey. "We talked and decided she needed to sleep, which wouldn't happen if you were on watch."

"We were worried about her," Aubrey said.

Chloe feels the love of these women. "Thank you, both."

Aubrey and Stacie looked relieved.

"Is everyone else already up?"

"Zeke is the only one so far," Aubrey told her, speaking louder. "We started here because we know how long it takes the wake the hobbit."

"I heard that," Beca mumbled from somewhere in the bed.

"You were meant to," Aubrey said with a laugh.

Beca gets one arm out from under the blankets and flips Aubrey off. Stacie and Chloe laugh at the indignant expression on Aubrey's face.

"Rude," Aubrey muttered. "Anyway, since you and Beca made dinner, Stacie and I volunteered to make breakfast this morning. Come down when you're ready."

"Okay," Chloe said. "Thanks. We'll be down after we shower and change."

Stacie and Aubrey leave and get the rest of the group up telling them to meet downstairs for breakfast. The first thing Stacie does is start the coffee. Aubrey looks through the freezer and brings back some sausage patties, bacon, and hash browns. She sets everything on the counter and finds Stacie in what looks like a pantry.

"I found some powdered milk and eggs," Stacie said, holding up the bags. "I'm not sure how the eggs will taste but it's worth a try."

"Sounds almost palatable," Aubrey said. "I've got frozen hash browns, bacon, and sausage. I think we'll be good."

Stacie and Aubrey go back to the kitchen and get things started. Zeke and CR are the first to make an entrance. Stacie notices Zeke carrying the laptop they were using the night before.

"Coffee's ready," Stacie said pointing to the pots she made.

"Do you think there's any kind of creamer here?," Zeke asks as he pours coffee into two cups.

"Check the pantry over there," Aubrey suggests. "I think there's some of that non-dairy stuff. Oh, Stacie found some powdered milk if you'd rather have that."

Zeke goes into the pantry and comes out with a box of non-dairy creamer packets and some sugar. He sees Aubrey looking at the box of powdered eggs and chuckles. "I thought I was done with military type rations."

"Do they really taste like scrambled eggs?," Aubrey asks.

"Actually, they're better than you think," Zeke tells her.

Aubrey shrugs and reads the directions and reconstitutes the eggs. While they soak a bit she starts the hash browns. Stacie is handling the bacon and sausage.

CR and Zeke are watching the food preparations when Sammy and Taylor come running into the kitchen. "CR, CR!," Taylor yells. "Lily needs help with Emily."

CR immediately jumps up and runs for the stairs. Aubrey and Stacie look concerned and start to follow only to be stopped by Zeke. "I'll go. Taylor, you and Sammy stay here with Stacie and Aubrey. Okay?"

The little girls nod and Zeke rushes out. He gets to Lily's room to find Emily apologizing to CR. "I'm so sorry," Emily said looking very apologetic. "We just needed someone to help me downstairs. I'm fine, just still really weak."

"The way those girls came running in saying Lily needed help with you," CR said, "I thought for sure your wound had opened up or something."

Zeke smiles at them and offers to help get Emily downstairs. As they come out of the room, Chloe and Beca are coming out of theirs. "Good morning, everyone," Chloe said with a grin.

Beca mumbles some kind of greeting causing CR, Lily, and Emily to laugh. "Typical morning Beca," Emily said.

"She told me a shower in the morning helps wake her up," Chloe said with a grin. "She lied."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Breakfast is done and everyone thanks Stacie and Aubrey. "You were right, Zeke," Aubrey said. "Those eggs were better than I expected."

"Hey," Stacie said nodding at Zeke. "I noticed you brought down the laptop. Did you check to see if we got a response to our email?"

"Not yet," Zeke responds. "I thought I should check while everyone was together."

"Well, we're together now," CR said. "Let's check it."

"I'm with CR," Beca said. "Let's do it now before we start searching the rooms."

"Actually," Lily said. "I have some questions before we proceed."

"What kind of questions?," Aubrey asks.

Lily is looking at Zeke and Zeke sees her. He looks down at the floor. "I think she has questions for me."

"Lily?," Chloe said tentatively. "What's this about?"

"I feel like." Lily stopped and looked around at the girls. "I mean no disrespect to you, Zeke, but I feel like you were holding back last night. That there's more you're not telling us."

Lily and Zeke stare at each other. The others look at each other and then back and forth between Zeke and Lily.

"Ask your questions, Lily," Beca said causing Zeke to look at her. Beca looks back at him. "I trust Lily's instincts, Zeke. If she has questions then I think it means you owe us some real answers, don't you?"

Zeke let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head. "Go ahead, Lily."

The tension is thick as the girls settled back down in their seats. Lily sits directly across from Zeke and leans her arms on the table.

"Yesterday," Lily said. "Stacie drove the van by those things and they didn't pay any attention to us. But when the truck was close to them, they suddenly attacked. Why? Why did they attack the truck and not the van?"

Zeke sighs and takes a deep breath. "They were a group of the 'super' infected and their hearing is exponentially more fine-tuned than those earlier infected. Part of what I left out last night was that we knew the super infected were more advanced with regard to hearing, way more advanced. I can only assume they honed in on the sounds of our weapons being made ready. Or even our voices when we were talking. They were a bit higher than normal from fear, anticipation, and anxiety."

"So, you lied to us," Beca said. "Why? What purpose does it serve to not let us know what we're really up against?"

"I am a soldier," Zeke said. "I am given orders and I follow them. We were ordered not to discuss anything we saw on base. I only told you what I was able to without fear of repercussion."

"Bullshit!," Beca said her anger flaring.

"Beca," Chloe said putting her hand on Beca's arm.

"You didn't go back to your base when you and Chicago were in the clear after your squad was attacked," Beca said. "Why not?"

"Because they knew they were being lied to," Lily responds before Zeke can. "They knew the base was identified as a safe place and let everyone in. And, I think they found out the survivors they were supposed to be protecting were being used for their research."

A collective gasp is heard around the room. Beca looks at Zeke and asks, "Is this true?"

Zeke looks down and nods his head. Beca stands abruptly causing her chair to fall over. Everyone's head snapped over to her as she rushed out of the dining room. Chloe immediately ran after her.

"What the hell, Zeke?," Aubrey yells. "Did you just make up the story about using prisoners because it sounded better?"

"No," Zeke said looking at Aubrey. "Look, Chicago and I didn't like what they were doing, but it was working. They actually developed a cure for the infection. We really didn't have that large a group of survivors on base. Maybe thirty or so. When there were no more survivors the researchers wanted to use the soldiers but DOD wouldn't let them. The prison was discovered on one of our missions and we started bringing them to the base in small groups to use as test subjects. If the scientists hadn't done what they did to those people, we may have all become one of those things by now."

"That doesn't make us feel any better," Stacie said quietly.

"It didn't make us feel any better when we found out either," Zeke said.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Chloe rushes out of the dining room after Beca catching up to her as she reaches the door to the stairwell. Chloe reaches out and grabs Beca by the arm to stop her. Beca leans back against the door and is shaking her head.

"Beca," Chloe said and stops when she sees how angry Beca is.

"I hate this fucking infection," Beca cries. "I hate the fucking military. I hate the fucking zombies. I hate Jesse for dying. I hate-" Beca breaks down crying and slides down to the floor.

Chloe sits next to her and gathers Beca in her arms. She's cradling Beca's head to the chest and just sits and holds her while she cries, a few tears sliding down her face as well. Beca's cries become sniffles and she wipes at her face.

"I got your shirt all wet," Beca said softly.

"It's okay," Chloe tells her. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, no," Beca said with a sigh. "I don't know. We've been through so much lately and just when I think things might actually get better, we hear this stuff about what the military is doing. And sadly, even when this is over, what they did will probably be swept under the rug. I can see using the already infected, but to purposely infect someone not knowing if you could cure them. That's just wrong."

"You know it's not Zeke's fault," Chloe said.

"I know," Beca said. "But he's the only one here to yell at."

Chloe gave a little chuckle and Beca smiled at her. "Maybe we should go back and see what we missed."

"Okay," Beca said and stood up. "I want to wash my face first. You should probably change your shirt as well. You've got a _Spring Break_ wet t-shirt thing going on there."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Beca and Chloe have been gone about twenty minutes before they walk back into a quiet dining room. Everyone looks up when they hear them enter. Chloe looks at Beca and nods her head to her. Beca sighs and walks over to sit next to Lily and looks across the table at Zeke.

"Zeke," Beca said. "I'm sorry I lost my temper. I know none of this is your fault. It's just that so much has happened in the past 48 hours and there is a breaking point in all of us. I guess you not telling us everything you know was mine."

"Please," Zeke said. "Don't apologize. I should have just been honest with you from the start. The military doesn't even know if I'm dead or alive so there wouldn't be any repercussions if I told you everything. I've been trained to think like a soldier for so long, it's hard to think like a civilian."

"Okay," Aubrey said. "Tell us everything. How did you find out what they were doing?"

Zeke took a breath and started talking.

 _The base was not affected by the infection. We were fully operational and hadn't lost a single soldier. Chicago and I were on routine watch around the base one night when we heard a noise near one of the buildings that had restricted access and was supposed to be secure at all times. We looked around and found one of the doors sitting open so we went inside to check things out. We had our guns ready and we both entered the premises. We went down a hallway and didn't see or hear anything so we started thinking someone just didn't close the door completely. We had turned to leave when we heard a sound, it could have been a door closing or someone bumped into something. We didn't know so we continued further into the building to see if we could find the source of the noise._

" _Do you hear anything?," Chicago asked me after we had gone a few more feet._

" _No," I responded. "You?"_

 _He shook his head no. Just was we were thinking of just chucking the idea of continuing the search, we noticed some light coming from behind the double doors ahead of us. Of course we went to investigate. I looked through the gap between the two doors but couldn't really see much. We each grabbed a handle and on the count of three we pulled the doors open and raised our weapons. The hallway was lined on on one side with glass panels and the light was coming from them. We made our way over and quickly looked through the glass. We were shocked because standing on the other side of the glass were about thirty of the infected. They were shuffling around but not really doing anything. This was the first time Chicago and I had seen one of them up close. Their skin was kind of pale gray looking, like someone who'd been sick for a while. That was weird enough, but when we saw their eyes they were milky white looking. It was disturbing to see them that close._

" _What the hell?," Chicago said. "Are those the infected?"_

" _Sure looks like," I said. "Where did they all come from?"_

" _I heard they were sending out patrols to see if they could catch any," Chicago said._

" _Why?," I asked._

" _Based on what I heard, they have scientists here who want to use them for research," Chicago replied. "To see if they can figure out how the disease spread so fast. Maybe then they can find a cure."_

" _That's messed up," I said._

 _A door suddenly opened and Colonel Samuels came through. He looked up surprised to see us. We stood at attention and saluted and he saluted back._

" _What are you boys doing in here?," Colonel Samuels asked. "This is a restricted area?"_

" _Sorry, sir," I responded. "We were on routine patrol and the door was open. We came in to check to see if everything was in order and secure the area if needed."_

" _Good job," Colonel Samuels. "I'm going to have to order you to not tell anyone about what you saw in here. We are getting close to figuring out how this disease works, which means we are close to hopefully finding a cure for it. You two do understand the importance of keeping this to yourselves for now?"_

" _Yes, sir!," Chicago and I both said._

" _Good," Colonel Samuels. "You are dismissed. I'll walk you out to make sure the door is properly secured._

"And that was it," Zeke tells them. "That was how we found out they actually had some of the infected on base."

"When did you find out they were using the survivors for their research?," Lily asks.

"It was about a month later," Zeke responds. "A week after we found the open door to the building, Colonel Samuels called us into his office and put us on duty in the restricted building. He knew we would keep whatever we saw to ourselves. About three weeks after our new assignment we were watching the monitors in the security room. We saw four of the survivors being brought into the building at gunpoint by some of the researchers. We were shocked. Then the camera went out. By the time we were able to get to that part of the building, they were nowhere in sight. Chicago and I looked around the base for those survivors the next day but we didn't find them."

"Didn't you think that was weird?," Chloe asks.

"Of course we did," Zeke said. "We had always wondered why they only had four of us assigned to watch the building. Seeing that gave us our answer. You see, normally we would be on duty for 12 hours and off for 24. That wasn't so bad but there were only four of us assigned to the building and our schedule was on for 12 off for 12. Also, part of our new duties during our 12 hours off was to go out on patrol to see if we could catch any of the infected and bring them back. Chicago and I, and the other two, were the only ones ever allowed to take them into the building."

"How were you able to do that without them attacking?," Stacie asks.

"They weren't violent at first," Zeke responds. "We used these little clicker things to get them to follow us. They were just loud enough to attract them without agitating them into attacking. Once they were secured in the building the testing would begin. We would strap them down so the researchers could draw blood and get CAT scans of them. After that we led them to the room we had seen earlier. One night we saw the survivors that had been brought in a few nights before."

"Where'd you see them?," Lily asks.

"In the room with the infected," Zeke said. "They had some speakers in the room. They would send different sounds through the speakers to see how the infected reacted to each sound. Some of them got agitated with some of the lighter sounds, but nothing too bad. Then as the sounds got higher pitched the infected would start get very agitated and try to get to the source of the noise. Some even got aggressive toward each other but didn't really cause any damage."

"That's like what we saw at the school," Beca said. "They didn't even notice us when they were trying to get to the fire alarm."

"On the night we saw the four survivors in the room," Zeke continues, "we saw firsthand how they used the sounds to provoke the infected into attacking the survivors. The survivors were freaked when they were put in with the infected and started banging on the door. The were yelling and screaming and that seemed to agitate the infected. Suddenly, loud obnoxious alarms started coming through the speakers. This set the infected off and they attacked the survivors. It wasn't long before they all had been bitten and started turning."

Everyone was quiet as Zeke stopped to compose himself. He could still see the four turning into one of the infected and reminded him of seeing Chicago after he had changed. He cleared his throat.

"Chicago and I asked to be taken off the duty but our request was denied," Zeke said. "Colonel Samuels told us they were trying out new vaccines to cure the infected. He needed us to stay on so they wouldn't have to train anyone new to look after things. Like I told you earlier, the vaccines didn't work at first. Then they noticed a serious change in the infected. That's where the super-infected came from. They finally got to the point where they were actually curing the infected. That part is not a lie. The day before our squad was attacked, the scientists were going to give the cure to some of the super-infected to see what would happen. When the went to get them, they were gone; they somehow got out. We don't know how because the monitors were totally blank when we checked them. Early the next morning we were sent out to track them down. We found them and they were in a fight with the survivors I mentioned."

"So, the survivors didn't attack you?," Aubrey asked.

"Oh, they did," Zeke said. "But only after we helped them fight off the infected. We thought we were in the clear when most of them went running off. They were fast and we knew we were going to have trouble catching them again. One of our guys started yelling about catching them and getting them back to base. The civilians heard this and put two and two together and attacked _**us**_. They wanted us to take them to the base. Our sergeant told them our orders were to capture the infected and we didn't have time to take them to the base. That they were more than welcome to get there on their own. They started yelling at us about the power and how the infected were being kept safe while they were left on their own to die. One guy punched Sergeant Madden and then the fight broke out. We were getting our asses kicked. One of the survivors pulled out a gun and Chicago and I managed to get away from them and hide. Neither one of us wanted to kill any of the survivors. I think that's when we made the decision not go back to base. We remained in hiding for about 3 days, living off the few rations we had with us. We finally came out and found one of the humvees abandoned but we weren't able to get it started. We didn't see any of our guys or the group that attacked us, so, we grabbed everything we could carry from it and set off on foot."

The room was quiet as the girls let what Zeke said sink in. Beca looked at Lily and Lily turned to Zeke.

"I believe you and thank you for being honest," Lily tells him. "I understand that in times like these we do what we have to do to survive. I only ask that from here on out you continue to be honest with us. No more lies or holding back. I trust you, Zeke, I really do. You just need to trust us."

Zeke nods his head. "For what it's worth, I do trust you. All of you."

"Good," Lily said. "Now, if no one else has any questions, I think we should check to see if we have a response to our email."

The others readily agree and Zeke pulls up the laptop. "I wasn't completely honest before," he said sheepishly. "I did try to check the email but don't know the password to get onto the computer."

Lily chuckles and pulls the laptop over to her. She types something in and turns the laptop back to Zeke. Everyone moves to stand around and behind him so they can see the laptop as well. Zeke gets onto the DOD website and enters his email.

"I have a response," Zeke said loudly, sitting up in his seat. "It's from my buddy Tommy Gallagher."

The girls are excited as Zeke pulls up the response and they start reading.

 _Zeke! Dude, I thought you and Chicago were dead or one of those things. It's been a mess since you guys have been gone. The big guys at the Pentagon found out about those infected escaping AND that they had become some kind of super-infected. We've had them up our asses ever since._

 _Good news: The cure actually works. The flyovers they talked about will be happening in your area tomorrow. You will still need to be vigilant. The mist can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin but it takes a little while for it to work. The infected will look like they are dead at first; it somehow knocks them out. Then they wake up. They still have this grayish look to them but that goes away after about a day. They actually look pretty healthy, almost like they'd never been sick._

 _We have several trucks ready to go out and start picking up the cured folks and bring them back to the base. There are some doctors here and they will check them out and make sure they are really okay._

 _Bad news: They still haven't figured out how to help with the blindness. They think it will be permanent but they have some specialists trying to come up with some ideas. There are a lot of them out there._

 _Glad to hear you're still alive. I saw your email and wanted to let you know what's happening. You'll probably get another one tomorrow with the standard military BS about how things are good and not to worry, blah, blah, blah._

 _Tommy G._

 _PS - The military thought you and Chicago were dead. You sending an email tells them otherwise which means you guys may be court-martialed for desertion or being AWOL when (if?) you come back. Maybe, since you're helping a group of survivors they'll give you a break and you can come help with the cleanup. Whatever you decide, hit me up when this is over and we'll all grab a beer._

"Wow," Chloe said. "This could actually be over in a matter of days. Then we just have to start the healing process."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Everyone was overwhelmed by some of the things they learned. No one was in the mood to search the other rooms so they all went their separate ways for a bit. Stacie and Aubrey were still in the dining room with Zeke. They felt bad for the guy and stayed to just talk with him, to learn more about him. Beca and Chloe were in the lobby of the hotel playing with Sammy and Taylor. Lily had helped CR get Emily back to their room so she could check her wound and change the bandage.

"It's coming along nicely," Lily tells Emily as she secures the clean bandage. "I'd try and use it a little bit so it doesn't tighten up. Just do some arm lifts but don't overdo it. You don't want to pop your stitches."

"Thanks, Lily," Emily said. "I think I'm going to take a nap. I didn't get much sleep last night. Those girls kick in their sleep. I was worried they were going to somehow kick my injury."

"They both wanted to help you with your boo-boo," Lily said, chuckling. "I didn't have the heart to make one of them sleep with me."

"It's okay," Emily said with a smile. "They were so sweet to want to help."

"Lily, if you want to go downstairs and be with the girls, I'll stay with Emily," CR said. "I found a book so I can read it while Emily's resting."

"Thanks, CR," Lily said. "I actually want to talk to Beca and Chloe about something."

Lily left Emily sleeping and CR reading. She made her way downstairs and heard Sammy and Taylor laughing as soon as she came through the door from the stairwell. She smiles as she watches Beca and Chloe playing with the two young girls. She walks over to them

"Lily," Taylor screams when she sees her. Taylor goes running over to Lily and grabs her around the waist. "Me and Sammy beat Beca in the tickle war."

"You did?" Lily asks as she walks over to the group.

"They cheated," Beca said wagging a finger at Taylor, causing the young girl to laugh.

"No, we didn't," Taylor said. "You're just a sore loser."

"Chloe, tell Lily they cheated," Beca whines.

"Sorry, Beca, can't help you," Chloe said. "They beat you fair and square."

Taylor and Sammy laugh and do a victory dance. Lily watches all this and then looks at Beca and Chloe.

"Hey, guys," Lily said causing Beca and Chloe to look at her. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," Chloe said. "I'm going to take the girls in and see if Stacie will give them some ice cream."

"Ice cream!," Taylor yells and grabs Chloe by the hand. "Let's go!"

Chloe laughs and takes the girls into the dining room. She leaves them with Stacie with the promise of joining them after she talks with Lily. She walks out to find Lily and Beca talking.

"I know Chloe will say yes," Beca said.

"I'll say yes to what?," Chloe asks as she reaches the two.

"I was asking Beca if she thought the two of you might want to take care of Sammy and Taylor," Lily tells her. "After what Zeke said about the cure and the blindness being permanent, I'm more determined to go out and help people. It wouldn't be right dragging the girls all over the place. They need some place stable with people who will love them and take care of them. I've been watching you with them. They trust you and they like you."

"I think that's a great idea," Chloe said.

"We'll talk and get back to you," Beca said.

They look at each other in surprise.

"What?," Chloe asks. "You don't want to take care of Sammy and Taylor."

"I think we need to talk about it before we decide," Beca tells her.

"They need us," Chloe said.

"What if their parents come back?," Beca asks.

"What if they don't?," Chloe counters.

The two sit and glare at each other. Lily shakes her head and then calls both their names so they'll look at her.

"Look, I know it's a tough thing to ask," Lily said. "But, if the mist works and the infected are cured, I'll want to leave as soon as possible. I need to know that someone is going to be there for them. I think you two are the best choice. I'm just asking that you to think about it. Just let me know your decision in the morning."

Lily got up and went into the dining room. Chloe looked at Beca with a hopeful sparkle in her eyes. Beca just stared blankly back at her.

"Fine," Chloe said as she stood up. "I don't need to think about and I don't need your permission." Chloe turns and walks toward the dining room.

"What the hell does that mean?," Beca whispers. She jumps up and follows Chloe.

"I'll take care of them, Lily," Chloe said as soon as she sees the girl.

"Chloe!," Beca said catching up to her and grabbing her arm. "I thought we were going to talk about this."

"I don't need to talk about it or think about it," Chloe tells her. "I am more than capable of taking care of two little girls. If you want to help, fine. If not, that's fine, too. It's your choice. I choose to take care of them."

The tension in the room was palpable. Chloe stood resolute while Beca's uncertainty was on full display.

"Hey, Beca," Stacie said putting her arm around the tiny brunette. "Why don't we take a little walk? Maybe check out some of the rooms on the upper floors, see if we can find you a new pair of shoes. What do you say?"

Beca gives Stacie a small smile and mutters, "Okay."

Stacie leads Beca out of the dining room. Aubrey turns to Chloe and looks at her. Chloe just shrugs her shoulders and goes over to Sammy and Taylor.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Stacie takes Beca up to her and Aubrey's room. Once inside they sit on the side of the bed and Stacie looks at Beca.

"So, what's going on?," Stacie asks.

Beca gives a heavy sigh and says, "Lily asked if Chloe and I would take Sammy and Taylor and take care of them. She wants to travel around and help the people who are cured since they'll be blind. She doesn't think that dragging the girls around with her is what's best for them."

"Why don't you want to help take care of them?," Stacie asks.

"It's not that I don't want to," Beca said, her voice quivering. "I'm just scared because I don't know how."

"Don't know how to what?," Stacie asks. "Take care of kids? It's just like taking care of the Bellas only they'll actually do what you tell them to do."

Beca lets out a small laugh. "I'm sure it's not that simple."

"It's as simple as you want it to be," Stacie tells her. "Plus, you'll have Chloe there with you. She'll help you figure things out as you go."

"She would make a great mom," Beca said with a smile. "And, I do want to be with her, like, forever."

"There's your answer," Stacie said. "I think you should let her know before this gets out of hand and you two end up not talking to each other. I don't want to be around a cranky Beca and no one wants to be around a cranky Chloe."

"Fine," Beca said. "I'll go talk to her now."

"Come on," Stacie said. "Let's check on Emily first."

 ***0*0*0*0***

After watching Stacie and Beca walk out of the dining room, Lily looks at Chloe. "Chloe, I didn't mean to cause problems between you and Beca," Lily said. "I just really feel like they you two would be good to them and for them."

"I get it, Lily," Chloe tells her. "Don't worry about it. I think Beca's just nervous and thinks she can't do it. We'll talk later and everything will be fine."

"Hey, Chlo," Aubrey said getting her attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Okay," Chloe said. "You girls save me a picture to color. I'll be right back."

Chloe followed Aubrey out to the lobby and they both sat down. Chloe looks at Aubrey expectantly. "Well?"

"Do you think it's a good idea to push Beca into something like this?," Aubrey asks. "Being responsible for the care of two young girls?"

"I'm not pushing her into anything," Chloe said. "Those girls need to know that someone wants to take care of them. They need to know that things are going to be normal again. I can't just not help. Beca knows it, too, she's just scared."

"Being scared is what usually has Beca running away from things," Aubrey said. "What if she decides to run away from this? From you and those little girls?"

"She won't," Chloe said full of confidence. "She's been through so much that anything normal sounding is a bit overwhelming for her. She'll come back down and she'll apologize for being so awkward about it and I'll apologize for being stubborn. Then she and I will talk to Sammy and Taylor to see if they want to stay with us when this is all over."

"You sound sure of yourself," Aubrey said.

"Not really," Chloe said with a smile. "I'm just sure of Beca."

 ***0*0*0*0***

After chatting with Emily and CR, Beca suggests they check some of the rooms on the upper floors. She wants to talk to Chloe but she also wants a little time away to get her head on straight. CR and Emily decide to join them and they take the stairs to the 6th floor. They go off in pairs and start going from room to room. Stacie and Beca have checked about three rooms when they hear Emily yelling.

"Guys! Come quick," Emily yells.

They rush out and run to the next room. They walk in to find Emily and CR staring out the window so they rush over to see what they are looking at.

"What the hell is that?," Stacie asks.

"I don't know," CR responds. "But we should get downstairs and tell the others.

"I think we're about to have some company," Beca mumbles as they rush out of the room.

* * *

 **Hey, guys and gals: Just wanted to let you know we're getting close to the end. Probably one or two chapters and then an Epilogue to see how everyone is doing down the road. Thanks for staying with me on this journey. And a special thanks to RJRMovieFan for all of his great ideas and help in writing this.**


	8. Chapter 8

Beca, CR, Stacie, and Emily come running out of the stairwell, Emily panting and trying to catch her breath. Aubrey, Zeke, and Chloe come running in from the dining room to see what was happening.

"What's wrong?," Chloe asks rushing over to Beca. "Are you okay?"

Beca is slightly panting from running down the steps at break-neck speed. "We saw something. Whatever it is, it looks like it's heading this way."

"Is it the planes?," Zeke asks. "Are they flying over early?"

"No," CR said, also panting slightly. "It looks like a horde of those super-infected."

"They were chasing and attacking what looked like a shuttle type bus," Emily adds, breathing harder than the rest and holding her shoulder.

"Somebody had to be driving so there's at least one person on that bus," Stacie said. "I think it's safe to assume there are more."

"We should go to an upper floor and check it out," Aubrey suggests. The girls all nod and start for the stairwell.

Lily notices how pale Emily looks. As they walk up the stairs, Lily stops Emily when they reach the second floor. "Em, why don't you and I take Sammy and Taylor to their room. The others can fill us in on whatever's going on."

Chloe and Aubrey see how pale Emily looks and agree. "We'll come back down as soon as we figure out what's happening. Okay?"

Emily nods and follows Lily and the two young girls to their room. The others go up and Stacie exits at the fifth floor. "This should be high enough to see everything," she tells them.

They exit and Beca tells them they saw them from the windows on the left. She suggests they start with the rooms at the end and on the right since they have probably moved since they ran downstairs. They again break off in pairs and start entering various rooms. They check out the windows and hear CR call out.

"In here," CR yells to the others from the doorway. The girls run in and find Zeke with his face pressed up against the window trying to see.

"Out there," Zeke said and points to what looks like a dark blob. "That's a horde of them. I think that's what you guys saw earlier."

"It looks like they're moving," Chloe said. "What are we going to do?"

"Do you think we can set off the fire alarm in the hotel?," CR asks. "And once it goes off, can we shut it down?"

"What are you thinking, CR?," Aubrey asks.

"With their super hearing," CR starts to explain, "the alarm will break them away from the bus and head this way. We shut down the alarm and then, hopefully, they won't know where to go."

"I bet Lily could do it," Stacie said. The others agreed.

"What happens to the people on the bus?," Beca asks. "As soon as it's quiet here they'll hone back in on the bus."

"Not necessarily," Zeke said.

"What's your plan?," Aubrey asks.

"We take the truck out," Zeke responds. "Drive it to a point where we can watch the infected. As soon as they leave the bus, we put someone on board to explain about their hearing. Then they can lead the folks to the hotel. Let them know they have to be quiet or else they will be surrounded again. I'll go."

"I'll go with you," CR volunteers.

"Are you sure, CR?," Stacie asks and at CR's nod she adds, "Okay, I'll go, too."

"No," Zeke said. "Just two of us. CR can drive the truck and I'll get on the bus and bring it back here."

"What happens once the bus gets here?," Beca asks.

"I'll keep them quiet and stay on the bus until the flyovers start," Zeke said. "Then we can bring them in here where they'll be safe."

"I don't know, Zeke," Beca said. "I got a bad feeling about this."

"I can't stand by and do nothing," Zeke said. "I'm a trained soldier. It will work. I just need to get some guns and ammo from the van, just in case I have to fight them".

"No!," Beca cries out and reaches out to stop him. "We can't kill them. The mist will cure them. We have to give them a chance."

"The mist isn't being sprayed until tomorrow," Zeke said. "There are obviously humans on that bus. If we don't do something, they could be killed or, worse, turned into those things."

"Beca's right," Emily said. "We have to give those infected a shot at being human again."

"But what about the people on the bus who are still human?," Aubrey asks. "Are we supposed to just ignore them. They are fine; if those things get to them, there's no telling what will happen to them."

"Look, I'm sorry but we don't have time to argue about this," Zeke said. "I understand wanting to give them a chance. But if it comes down to them or us, I'm picking us. So, hate me all you want but that's what I plan to do. What are you all going to do?"

Chloe and Stacie are conflicted. They can see both sides but don't know what the should do. They don't have much time based on how the size of the horde.

"I think we should try Zeke's idea," Stacie said. "Unless someone else has a better one."

The girls all look at each other. None of them can think of a better solution. Beca shakes her head and leaves the room.

"I'll talk to her," Chloe said and follows to catch Beca.

"Let's go so we can get out there," CR said.

Everyone leaves the room and heads to the stairwell. They rush by Chloe and Beca who are talking in the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Beca," Aubrey stops to tell her. "We're going with Zeke's plan. We should arm ourselves, too, just in case."

Beca doesn't respond. Chloe wraps her in a hug and holds her as they rush past.

"Come on, Becs," Chloe said. "Let's go see if Lily knows how to turn off the fire alarm once it's been pulled."

"We should probably go help them with the weapons, too," Beca said. "Maybe we can figure out a way we won't have to kill any more of them before tomorrow."

Chloe takes Beca's hand and they walk down to the second floor. Everyone is already in Lily's room explaining what was happening.

"Lily," Chloe said. "The alarm being turned on and then off is the biggest part of the plan. Do you know how to turn off the alarm once it comes on?"

"I can check," Lily said. "I think there is a way because they probably have fire drills. Meaning they have to turn the alarm on and then off manually. I just need to find the security office. That's usually where it is."

"I know where the security office is," Stacie said. "I found it when we did our initial search."

"Let's go," Lily said.

Lily and Stacie rushed out to find the security office. "We should start getting the guns and ammo ready," Zeke said. "We need to be fast. I don't want to leave those people out there for very long on their own."

"You guys go ahead," Beca said. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Becs?," Chloe asks. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No," Beca said giving her a quick kiss. "I'm just going to make sure Emily is armed and can protect our girls."

"Our girls, huh?," Chloe smiled and gave Beca a hug before hurrying after the others.

"Emily," Beca said. "Do you still have your gun?"

"It's in my room," Emily tells her.

"I'll get it for you," Beca said.

Emily nods and Beca goes to get her gun. She's back in just a few minutes and hands the weapon over.

"Hey, girls," Beca said kneeling in front of Sammy and Taylor. "Emily's going to watch over you guys while we go take care of something. You stay here with her and we'll be back for you as soon as we can. Okay?"

"Okay," Taylor said.

Beca leans in and hugs both girls and gives a nod to Emily. She rushes out the door and heads down the stairs to the garage. The weapons were pretty much unloaded and she met Aubrey, Chloe, and Stacie carrying the weapons in bags as they came up the stairs.

"I'll be back down in a minute," Stacie said. "They need someone to open and close the garage door. CR already showed me how to do it."

Beca nods and continues down to the garage to see if there was anything she could do. Zeke and CR were checking the weapons they planned to take with them. Lily entered the garage and stood off to the side watching them. Beca walks over to her and asks if she was all set with the alarm. Lily nods and looks down at her feet.

"Everything okay?," Beca asks.

"I don't like the idea of killing any of the infected," Lily said. "They have a chance of being human again. I just don't like it."

"I'm with you on that," Beca said. "But, I also have to agree with Zeke. If it comes down to us or them, I will not hesitate. Everyone I care about and have left in this world is in this building. I will do whatever I have to to make sure all of us to get out of here."

Lily nods. She understands what Beca is saying and she'd kill any of the infected if they managed to get to them. Doesn't mean she has to like the idea.

"Are you okay with working the alarm?," Beca asks Lily.

"Yeah," Lily said. "I found it right away. That's going to be the easy part."

"Zeke," Beca calls to get the soldier's attention. "The garage door opening is going to warn the infected. What's the plan for when CR gets back?"

"We were just talking about that," Zeke said. "She's going to drive back and park as close to the front door as she possibly can. If she can't get back inside the hotel, she'll just stay in the truck."

"I'll make sure to be ready to unlock the door," Beca said.

"Don't worry, Beca," CR tells her. "We're all going to be walking out of here together once the cure is dropped."

Beca walks over and hugs her. "Just be careful," Beca whispers.

"Always," CR said with a smirk.

Stacie comes back and CR and Zeke climb into the truck. Lily stands at the passenger window.

"I'll go up and start the alarm," Lily tells. "Stacie, the second you hear it, you open the garage. As soon as the truck is clear, close it. I'm shutting the alarm off after two minutes. Understand?"

"Got it," Stacie said. "Beca, can you stay down here with me? You saw how fast those things are. Plus, we don't know if there are any others around that we haven't seen. So, if any of those things look like they might make it inside, we need to stop them."

Beca readies her gun and nods her head. Lily leaves them and they all get ready.

A few minutes later every single occupant of the hotel jumps when the alarm goes off. They were expecting it, but it still frightened them when it sounded. Stacie counted pushed the button to open the garage door.

Beca stood with her gun at the ready.

Lily took a deep breath and started the stopwatch as soon as she hit the alarm switch. She hoped they didn't need more than two minutes to get out of the garage.

Sammy and Taylor covered their ears and were crying. Emily doing her best to calm them down.

Aubrey and Chloe stood watching on the fifth floor to see if the plan was going to work.

CR tensed and put the truck in gear, ready to drive out as soon as there was clearance. Zeke gave CR a pat on the arm and a quick head nod to show he was ready. The garage door opened and CR drove the truck out of the garage. Stacie immediately hit the button to close it and took a position next to Beca, both with guns at the ready.

As soon as the garage doors closed, Beca and Stacie let out the breaths they had been holding and ran upstairs to the lobby. They then took positions in front of the doors to watch things play out. They could see the horde rushing toward them. They watched as CR maneuvered the truck away from them and toward the bus.

Lily turned the alarm off and left the security room to check on everyone. She went to her room first to check on the girls and Emily. They were doing better now that the alarm was off. She hugged the two little girls and left them with reassurances they would all be back soon. She went to the lobby and joined Stacie and Beca as they watched and waited.

When the alarm sounded, Aubrey and Chloe watched as the horde seemed to stop and suddenly head toward the hotel. It almost looked as if they were jogging instead of running full force like they did when they attacked the truck. Even still, they were really close by the time the alarm went off. The stared, somewhat in awe, as the horde suddenly stopped and just stood there as if waiting for a sound to direct them where to go.

In the distance they see the truck pull up next to the bus. They see Zeke get out and the door to the bus open and him disappearing inside.

 ***0*0*0*0***

"Can I get everyone to look at me please," Zeke said as soon as he entered the bus. He has about half a dozen faces looking back at him. "I'm here to help you but you must be quiet. Those zombies out there have super hearing. Your screams and cries are what is attracting them."

The people on the bus suddenly get quiet and look out the windows. Zeke can see they are all frightened.

"We have a small group of survivors who are safe and secure in that hotel straight ahead," Zeke tells them. The bus occupants all look ahead to see the hotel Zeke pointed out. "The military has developed a cure for the infection and will be administering it tomorrow. We are going to try and get you to the hotel and safety, but I need you all to remain quiet."

"What do we need to do?," the bus driver asks.

"What's your name, sir," Zeke asks.

"Mike Stephens," the driver responds.

"Nice to meet you, Mike," Zeke said. "I'm Zeke. The plan is to drive the bus to the hotel. If we can, we're going to get you folks inside. If not, I'll wait on the bus with you until the cure is administered."

"How is the cure going to be administered?," Mike asks.

"By plane," Zeke responds. "It's been made into a mist that can be inhaled and absorbed into the skin. It won't hurt you. It will just change these zombie-like humans back into just humans."

"How do you know all this?," one woman asks.

"I'm with the military," Zeke said. "I was at Fort Benning when they developed the cure. Mike, I'll drive the bus to the hotel." Mike gets up from the driver's seat and squeezes past Zeke to take a seat with the others. "Just remember, no noise. If they come at the bus again, just hide your faces and cover your eyes, whatever you need to do to keep from screaming or making any noise."

Zeke gets behind the wheel of the bus and starts it up. He can see the horde turn toward the sound and he waits. When they make no moves to attack, he swallows and lets out a breath. He puts the bus in gear and starts moving.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Aubrey and Chloe let out a breath when the bus starts moving. "Let's go tell the others," Aubrey said and she and Chloe rush out and down the stairs.

They hit the lobby and see Beca, Stacie, and Lily standing there watching.

"The bus is heading this way," Chloe tells them. She walks over to stand by Beca. Beca grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze, her eyes never leaving the scene outside.

"Where's CR?," Aubrey asks. "We didn't see where she went after she dropped Zeke off at the bus."

"I don't know," Stacie replies. "We were focused mainly on the horde. They weren't moving very fast but I thought for sure they'd be here trying to attack the alarms before Lily turned them off."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Zeke maneuvered the bus to make a wide berth around the infected horde. He kept his eyes on them to see if they were going to attack again, but so far they've been lucky. He makes it to the hotel and pulls the bus in front of the doors as close as he can get. He locks eyes with Beca and she rushes over to the doors.

Zeke looks around and sees that the horde has started to move slowly toward them. He shuts off the bus and tells everyone to remain quiet. Beca remains frozen by the door as the group inside the hotel hold their breaths and get ready to fight. Zeke watches the horde, trying to gauge if they can get the folks off the bus and into the hotel before another attack. The group on the bus is small so the odds are in his favor. Just as he's about to tell the group to get ready to move, they hear an explosion and all eyes turn toward where they believe the sound came from.

"CR," Zeke mumbles as he watches the horde suddenly run off toward the sound, screeching loudly as they ran. There's another explosion and Zeke jumps up and tells the people on the bus to get up and start moving.

"CR," Aubrey said out loud and the other girls look at her, their eyes wide. Fear and concern for their friend evident in each of their faces.

The explosions continue and seem to be erratic but the horde is following the sounds. Beca unlocks the door and pulls it open as soon as Zeke has the bus doors open. She stands back as the bus passengers rush off the bus and into the hotel. The Bellas start ushering the group into the dining room. The passengers all fall into chairs, two of the women crying.

Zeke is the last one off and hurries into the hotel. Beca closes the door and slams the lock into place. She and Zeke rush into the dining room where Chloe grabs them both into a tight hug. Aubrey and Stacie join them.

"What are we going to do about CR?," Stacie asks looking worried for their friend.

"I don't know," Aubrey responds. "I think this may have been her plan all along."

"Why didn't she tell us?," Chloe asks.

"Because she knew we wouldn't let her go if we knew," Beca responds.

"Beca's right," Zeke said. He looks over to the new arrivals. "Let's get these people some food and water. We'll come up with a plan to find CR once they're taken care of."

Zeke and the girls turn toward the group and get their attention.

"Are you guys hungry?," Aubrey asks. "We have food and we can put something together. Maybe some soup?"

"That's very kind of you," Mike, the bus driver, said. "We really haven't had much and soup sounds great."

"Soup it is," Chloe said with a smile. "Let's go girls."

Aubrey, Stacie, Lily, and Beca start to follow Chloe into the kitchen. One of the women stands and asks, "Can we help?"

"Thank you, but no," Chloe tells her. "You just relax. We got this."

The woman nods and sits back down. Lily looks at the group.

"Would you all like some water?"

"Got anything stronger?," one of the men asks.

"I'm with him," someone else said, getting a chuckle from everyone else.

"We do," Lily said. "But maybe we should get some food in you first."

"I can live with that," the first guy said. "Water would be fine." He gives her a wink and adds, "For now."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Lily goes into the kitchen and sees that the others already have several large cans of soup open and being poured into pots on the stove.

"I'm worried about CR," she hears Beca saying.

"I don't mean to sound callous," Aubrey said. "But we can't dwell on that right now. We need to make sure everyone else is safe and secure. Otherwise, what she did would all be for naught."

"Do you think she's. . ." Beca looks down not able to finish the question.

"We have to prepare ourselves for it," Stacie said quietly.

"Um, hey, would one of you help me get some water for our guests?," Lily asks.

"I'll do it," Beca said. "Then I'll go get Emily and the girls to come down to eat."

"Good idea," Chloe said and gives Beca a big smile.

Beca helps deliver the water with Lily. Stacie takes the cart and gathers bowls and spoons. Aubrey gets some cloth napkins and places them on the cart as well.

After a few minutes, Chloe says the soup is ready and they place the pots on top of the cart and wheel everything to the dining room. Everyone sits up and smiles.

"That smells so good," one of the women said.

Beca walks in with Emily and the girls. Sammy and Taylor stop and hold onto Beca when they see the strangers.

"It's okay," Beca said quietly. "They're friends."

The two girls look up at Beca and she gives them a soft smile. Chloe sees them hesitate and walks over to them and kneels in front of them.

"Hey, it's okay," Chloe tells them. "They won't hurt you. Beca and I will protect you. Just sit next to us and you'll be fine." She stands and holds out her hand. "Come on, we're having some soup."

Taylor takes Chloe's hand and Sammy holds onto Beca. The little ready-made family walks over to join the others. The new arrivals are quiet, just savoring having some real food for the first time in what feels like months.

 ***0*0*0*0***

A little while later Beca is standing by the cart getting herself and Taylor more soup when she looks up and gasps. She drops the ladle into the pot and slams the bowl down sloshing soup over the sides. She takes off at a run out of the dining room. Chloe, Zeke, and Aubrey rush out after her.

"What's going on?," Aubrey asks.

"CR's back!," Beca said and rushes to the door just as the others see the truck outside.

CR has pulled the truck so it was nose-to-nose with the bus. Beca and CR are both looking around to see if they can see any of the infected. CR looks like she's in the clear and she opens the truck door and Beca unlocks the hotel door. CR runs the few feet to the door and enters. Beca locks the door behind CR and tackles her before she makes it very far.

"I'm so glad to see you!," Beca cries into CR's shoulder.

"Same here," CR said. "I wasn't sure I would see any of you again."

Beca releases CR and she is immediately grabbed by Chloe and Aubrey.

"That was the stupidest and bravest thing I've ever seen," Chloe said tearfully.

"It's all good," CR said trying to sound calm and collected while the adrenaline was still pumping inside her.

"Come on," Aubrey said pulling back from the hug and wiping a tear from her cheek. "Let's get some soup in you."

As soon as they walk into the dining room, Sammy and Taylor both yell out, "CR!" Lily and Stacie hug her. Emily stands back and then gets a hug as well.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Emily whispers to her.

CR pulls back from the hug and they both sit. Chloe puts a bowl of soup in front of CR and CR thanks her. A woman sitting across from CR looks around and then stands up causing everyone to look at her.

"I just," the woman starts and stops. "We just want to thank all of you for saving us. We don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along. I know it's not much but thank you."

Zeke and the Bellas all smile. "No thanks necessary," Chloe tells her. "We're just glad you're all safe here with us."

"Yeah," Beca said. "We were kind of getting bored with each other."

Chloe playfully slaps Beca on the arm as the others laugh at her. Several mini conversations start as they get to know each other.

 ***0*0*0*0***

After everyone has their fill of the soup, Aubrey and Lily go to the kitchen to get everyone some ice cream. The rest are sitting around the table talking.

"So, CR, what happened out there?," Stacie asks.

"Well, I had a feeling that the Sightless were going to go after the bus again," CR responds. "I didn't think the bus or the passengers were going to make it through another attack. So, when I saw them look like they were moving toward the bus I threw a grenade. And then another. They came toward where I was and I drove the truck around throwing grenades here and there. They followed every one. I finally thought they were far enough away that I could get back and into the hotel before I had to worry about them again. That's it. And, here I am."

"Thank you," Mike said. "I don't know how we would have managed if we would have had to sleep on the bus again. Especially knowing those things could attack at any moment."

"I wasn't here for the introductions," CR said. "I'm Cynthia Rose but everyone calls me CR."

"Actually, we haven't had formal introductions," Stacie said. "Allow me. I'm Stacie and this is my girlfriend, Aubrey. The redhead is Chloe and the snarky brunette next to her is Beca."

"Hey!," Beca said.

Stacie laughed and continued. "The two little ones next to them are Sammy and Taylor." The two girls smiled and said hi. "Then there's Lily and Emily. And, last but not least, our two heroes Zeke and CR."

"What happened to your arm, Emily?," Mike asked. "Oh, sorry, I'm Mike."

"She got shot," CR said. "Couple of guys who were up to no good were here and she got shot."

"Don't worry," Aubrey said. "They're, um, gone, so you don't have to worry about them."

There was silence for a minute or two before one of the new arrivals spoke up.

"I'm sorry you got shot," a blonde woman tells Emily. "I'm Donna and this is my husband Bobby."

"I'm Peter," a boyish-looking man of about 24 said. "This is my, um, girl-, um. This is Michelle." He looked down somewhat embarrassed.

CR looked at Peter and then at Michelle with a raised eyebrow. The young woman laughed and said, "We met a couple of months ago and have kind of been together ever since. He just doesn't know what to call whatever it is we have between us."

"Oh," CR said and looks over at the last couple.

"I'm Jack," the dark haired man said. "And this is my wife Diane." He looks around expectantly and a few look back at him confused. "You know. _A little ditty about Jack and Diane. Two American kids growing up in the Heartland,_ " he sang and grinned.

"Written and sung by John Cougar Mellencamp in 1982," Beca said. "Although, I think he just uses John Mellencamp now," she added in her usual matter-of-fact way.

"Exactly," Jack said smiling at Beca.

"I'm not familiar with it," CR said.

"I think I've heard it before," Chloe said. "Didn't you use it in one of your mixes, Becs?"

"I may have," Beca said. "I can't believe you guys never heard of it though. Especially you, Aubrey. It's pretty classic 80s music."

"Hey, if it was from the 80s and a _woman_ sang it, I'd know it for sure," Aubrey said causing the Bellas to laugh.

"I don't get it," Peter said looking confused.

"We are, were, an acapella singing group in college," Chloe said with a small laugh. "When Aubrey was our Captain we did a lot of songs sung only by women and most of them were from the 80s "

"Can you sing us something?," Michelle said. "I'd love to hear some music."

"Yeah," Diane said. "It could be fun."

"I don't know," Chloe said looking over at Beca. Beca just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Really?" Beca nodded and Chloe squealed. "Okay, let's do it."

The Bellas group together and decide on what to sing. "Let's do the pool mashup we did in freshman year," Stacie said and the others agreed. "Emily, I know you weren't with us then, but you'll catch on."

Emily smiled and nodded, glad to be included. She does love to sing.

"Chloe, are you okay to take the lead?," Beca asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Chloe said with an even bigger smile.

"Okay," Beca said as the girls got into position. Beca started and the other girls filled in with the music. Beca points to her and Chloe started to sing vocals.

 _Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining.  
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin.  
She's so beautiful. And I tell her every day._

Beca comes in and mixes in the lyrics from _Just A Dream._

 _Uh, Uh, I was thinkin' bout her, thinkin' bout me, thinkin' bout us, who we gonna be  
(I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me.)  
Opened my eyes, and it was only just a dream.  
(It's so, it's so, sad to think that she can't see what I see.)  
(But every time she asks me do I look okay, you know I'll say)  
It was only just a dream._

Beca points to Aubrey and she comes in to sing the chorus of _Just A Dream_ with Beca.

 _When I see your face,  
(So I traveled back down that road will she come back, no one knows.)  
There's not a thing that I would change. Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.  
(I realized, it was only just a dream. It was only just a dream)_

 _When I see your face,  
(So I traveled back down that road will she come back, no one knows.)  
There's not a thing that I would change. Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.  
(I realized, it was only just a dream. It was only just a dream)_

 _When I see your face  
(Face)_

The girls are all smiles when they finish. Their audience claps and cheers for them.

"That was amazing," Mike said. "I swear if I closed my eyes I would never have known you didn't have any instruments."

"That's what acapella is all about," Aubrey said. "Making music with your mouths."

 ***0*0*0*0***

The two groups spent the rest of the afternoon telling their stories. Where they were when things got really bad, how they found each other, everything. It was almost dinner time when Michelle and Diane offered to make something. Stacie and Aubrey volunteered to help since they knew where everything was in the kitchen.

Beca looks at Lily and clears her throat. "Hey, Lily, can Chloe and I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Lily said.

"Come on Sammy and Taylor, we want to talk to you, too," Beca said to the two young girls. Both got up and Sammy took Beca's hand and Taylor took Chloe's. The five of them went out to the lobby to talk.

Beca sat down and Sammy crawled into her lap and put her head on Beca's shoulder. Beca kissed the top of her head and smiled. Chloe and Taylor repeated the same actions and Chloe looked over at Beca and smiled.

"I can see where this is going," Lily said with an even bigger smile. "Taylor," Lily said and the oldest of the two girls looked at her. "Beca and Chloe want to take care of you and Sammy. They want you two to stay with them when we leave here. Do you want to do that?"

"What about you, Lily?," Taylor asked. "Can we stay with you?"

"I'm going to help the sick people," Lily said. "So, I won't be staying in one place. Beca and Chloe will take good care of you and I'll visit you. Is that okay?"

"I love Beca," Sammy said.

"I love you, too, Sammy," Beca said and hugged her.

"We both love you, Sammy," Chloe said. "And Taylor. We would love if you would want to live with us."

"What about mommy and daddy?," Taylor asked. "Can't we live with them?"

The three women looked at each other. "Well, how about this," Chloe said. "You live with us until your mommy and daddy find you. Then you can go live with them again."

"What if they don't find us?," Taylor said and looked down sadly.

"Then you will just stay with us," Beca said. "We'll be your family."

"Even if it's forever?," Taylor asked looking over at Beca.

"Even if it's forever," Beca responds and smiles at Taylor. Taylor smiles back at her and then looks at Chloe.

"I'd like to stay with you and Beca," Taylor tells Chloe, causing the redhead to squeal and grab her into a hug.

"I wanna stay with Beca and Chloe, too," Sammy said. Beca grabbed her in a hug and yelled, "Yay!"

"Where will we live?," Taylor asked.

"I was thinking we'd go to Barden," Beca said. "That's where Chloe and I went to school and my daddy has a house there. We can all live there."

"I'll leave you guys to it," Lily said and got up and started to walk away.

Taylor quickly got down from Chloe's lap and ran to Lily.

"Lily, wait," Taylor said causing the Asian woman to stop and look back, having barely enough time to brace herself before Taylor threw herself at her. She wrapped her arms around Lily and looked up at her.

"Thank you for taking care of us, Lily," Taylor said with a big smile.

Lily crouched down in front of Taylor. "Thank you for taking care of me, Taylor."

Lily hugged Taylor and Taylor gave her a big squeeze. Lily released Taylor and received a quick kiss on the cheek. "You promise you'll come visit us at Beca and Chloe's?"

"I promise," Lily said.

"Okay," Taylor said and without another word turned and skipped back over to Beca and Chloe. She climbed back onto Chloe's lap.

Lily watched her go with a melancholy smile. She nodded at Chloe and turned to continue toward the dining room.

"Tell us about our house," Taylor said looking at Beca.

Beca and Chloe both smiled.

"Of course," Beca said. "It has four bedrooms so you and Sammy can share one. And I was thinking we'd ask Aubrey and Stacie to live with so they would share a room."

"I like them," Sammy interjected.

"Me, too," Taylor said.

"Good," Beca said. "How about Emily? Can she live us, too?"

"Yay," Taylor said. " Emily is going to live with us."

"I hope so," Beca said. "What do you think, Sammy? Should Emily live with us?"

"Yes," Sammy said.

"What about CR?," Chloe asked. "And Zeke and Lily?"

"Well, Lily already said she was going to go around helping the infected," Beca said. "And I heard CR talking to her about going with her. And, I think Zeke is hoping to return to Fort Benning."

"Okay. So, then, what about me?," Chloe asked with a cheeky grin. "Where am I going to sleep?"

Beca glared at her. "Are you really going to make me ask?"

"Ask what?," Chloe said, playing coy.

Beca let out a sigh. "Chloe, will you share a room with me and be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, my," Chloe said putting her hand over heart. "This is so sudden."

"You're a dork," Beca said and Chloe started laughing. After a moment, Beca looked at her and said, "Well?"

"I'd love to be your girlfriend and share a room with you," Chloe said.

"Looks like we're really going to be a family," Beca said looking at Taylor and Sammy. "We're going to have so much fun. I think we should celebrate and have... a... tickle fight!"

Beca started tickling Sammy who started giggling and trying to get away. Chloe tickled Taylor who in turn tried to tickle Chloe. After a few minutes, the four fell back laughing and holding onto each other. Beca and Chloe found themselves with their faces very close to each other. Beca closed the short distance and gave Chloe a kiss.

"I love you," Beca said.

"I love you, too," Chloe said and gave her another quick kiss. "Come on. Let's go see what we're having for dinner."

The four got up and walked into the kitchen together smiling and talking.

"Mmm, something smells good," Chloe said.

"We're making spaghetti," Diane said.

"I love spaghetti!," Taylor said.

"Me, too," Sammy said.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Dinner was over, dishes were done, and everyone was sitting around enjoying a drink. Jack sipped his and sighed.

"That is so good," he moaned.

The others chuckle. Sammy yawned and Chloe decided it was time for the girls to go to bed.

"Speaking of bed," Michelle said. "I'm tired and would love to have a real bed to sleep in tonight."

"Don't worry," Chloe said with a wink. "I think we have a few vacancies. Why don't you all come with us and we'll get you set up in a room?. Then you can either go to bed or come back down here."

"Sounds good," Mike said. They all got up and follow Chloe and Beca out the door.

Everyone gets settled in their rooms. Jack, Diane, and Mike go back downstairs. Chloe and Beca tuck the girls in and lay on the bed with them. Sammy asks them to sing again so they do. Before they know it the two young girls are asleep.

"I'm going to go down and see if we need to take a turn keeping watch," Beca said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Chloe said sleepily.

Beca finds Zeke, Aubrey, and Stacie sitting with Mike, Jack, and Diane. "Hey, guys," Beca said as she sat at the table. "I was wondering what the schedule was for tonight's watch."

Mike, Jack, and Diane all speak up saying they'll take a watch.

"It's the least we could do," Mike said.

"I'd like to do the first watch," Beca said. "Chloe and the girls are asleep and I don't want to disturb them any more than necessary."

"I'll take the first watch with you," Mike said.

Beca tensed and looked scared. Both Stacie and Aubrey noticed.

"Hey, Beca," Aubrey said. "Why don't you and Stacie take first watch. I'll take the second watch with Mike."

Mike looked a little confused but said, "Sure, I can do that."

Beca swallowed and her face relaxed a bit. "Great. I'll just go let Chloe know." Beca leaves before anyone could say anything else.

"Did I say something wrong?," Mike asks.

"No," Aubrey responds and makes the decision to tell them what happened to Beca. "The day Emily was shot, Beca had been taken by three guys that we didn't know were in the hotel. When we found her she was tied to a table and they were talking about the things they were going to do to her. We surprised them and they pulled their guns and started shooting. Emily got shot and we shot them. Beca's just still a bit unsettled by it all. She didn't mean anything by it."

"No, no," Mike said. "No worries. I'm sorry that happened to her. Her reaction is totally understandable."

"You girls have been through quite a lot," Diane said. "I thought we had it bad just trying to find food from one day to the next."

"Yeah," Jack said. "We've been pretty lucky. Most of the people we've actually run into have been decent sorts."

The group sat around in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Zeke was the first to speak.

"So, Beca and Stacie have the first watch," Zeke said. "Then Aubrey and Mike. I'll take the third-"

"I'll take the third with you," Jack jumps in.

"I'll get CR and Lily for the next watch," Zeke said. "The watches usually last 2 hours so I'll take the last watch. I want to be up early anyway in case they start the flyovers."

"Wake me up when the last watch starts," Diane said. "I can make coffee and maybe get something started for breakfast. I have a feeling everyone is going to want to be up early as well. We don't want to miss anything. Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day."

Beca returns to the group and everyone else decides to turn in. Beca and Stacie start their watch sitting in the dining room.

"Let's take out some bacon and sausage from the freezer," Stacie suggests. "Get them thawing for breakfast. Maybe some hash browns, too."

"Sounds like a plan," Beca said. The two got up and checked the freezer pulling out the breakfast foods and placing them in the refrigerator to thaw. "Hey, I found some frozen biscuits. Think they're still good?"

"I don't know," Stacie said. "Just stick them with everything else and we'll see what happens in the morning. I like the idea of a breakfast biscuit."

"Do you think this mist will really work like Zeke said?," Beca asks. "That they really will be cured of the infection?"

"I do," Stacie replies. "If it didn't work, I'd like to think the military wouldn't risk spraying it around."

"When this is all over Chloe and I are going to head back to Barden," Beca said. "We're taking Sammy and Taylor with us and staying at my dad's house. Would you and Aubrey want to come with us? You can live in the house. We're going to ask Emily as well."

"I'd like that," Stacie said. "I'll talk to Aubrey and see what she says."

"We'll probably be here a few more days after the mist is administered," Beca said. "I don't think any of us are going to want to just leave any of the cured infected to fend for themselves. You have time to talk it over and decide."

"Thanks," Stacie said.

"We should drive around tomorrow after the flyovers and find a real hospital," Beca said. "Have Lily get any medicine we might need to help the cured. They'll probably have injuries from their attacks and stuff. Injuries that may not bother them now, but once they change they'll feel like hell."

"That's a good idea," Stacie said. "We'll talk to everyone in the morning and make some plans. We should move the truck and the bus to the garage if we can. That way we'll have a better view of what's going on in front of the hotel."

Beca nodded her head and the two women went back to the dining room and got comfortable. Both feeling excited and fearful of the day ahead of them.

* * *

 **Songs used/mentioned:**

 _ **Jack and Diane**_ **by John Cougar Mellencamp  
** _ **Just the Way**_ **You Are by Bruno Mars  
** _ **Just a Dream**_ **by Nelly**


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone was up early and seemed to be vibrating with excitement over the flyovers that were going to happen. They were just a couple of hours closer to this almost 10-month long ordeal finally being over. At least that's what they hoped was going to happen.

"Zeke," Aubrey said getting the soldier's attention. "Can we check the DOD website to see if there's any more information on the flyovers?"

"I'm on it," Lily said taking the laptop since she was closest. She inputs the passcode and then types in the URL for the DOD website and waits for a moment. "According to this, they should be starting around 9:00 this morning. And we are definitely in one of the flight paths."

"If that's the case, we should see something happening around 10:00," Zeke said.

"Beca and I were talking last night," Stacie said. "We should probably move the bus and the truck so we can see what's happening out front."

"That's a good idea," Aubrey said.

"I'll move the bus," Mike said.

"I'll move the truck," Chloe said. "CR do you have the keys?"

"They're still in the truck," CR told her.

"Okay," Beca said and looked at Chloe and Mike. "You two ready?" Both nodded their heads.

Beca and Zeke walked to the doors, followed by Chloe and Mike. Beca gave Chloe a quick kiss and wink before unlocking the door and pulling it open.

Mike walked straight ahead onto the bus. Chloe walked to the right and jumped into the truck and froze, eyes widened. She looked at Mike and saw the look of disbelief on his face. They then turned to look into the hotel. Beca saw Chloe's face and knew something was wrong. Chloe looked back at Mike and nodded her head. She started the truck and Mike started the bus. They both sat there waiting to see if anything was going to come running at them. Beca hadn't taken her eyes off Chloe and saw the redhead take a deep break before the truck started slowly moving back. The bus did the same. As the two vehicles parted a collective gasp went up inside the hotel.

"Fuck!," Beca practically yelled.

Everyone stood in shock and stared out the windows as about a hundred of the Sightless came into view. Beca quickly looked over to the truck and locked eyes with Chloe. She looked back at the Sightless to see that they were slightly moving around but had not attacked. Beca's blood runs cold when she sees roughly a half dozen of the Sightless start moving towards the truck and bus. They don't seem to be agitated, just curious at the change in noise. A couple of them come in between Chloe and the hotel's front door. She looks back at Chloe who was staring right at her.

"Stay where you are," Beca mouthed to the redhead.

Chloe nodded and mouthed back, "I love you."

"What are we going to do?," Diane asked looking out at Chloe and Mike. "There's like two more hours before the planes will be here."

Taylor and Sammy were frightened but remained quiet. They were standing by Stacie and Aubrey, their little arms wrapped around the two older women. Stacie gently removed Sammy's arms from around her and stooped down to look at the young girl.

"Sammy," Stacie said softly. "You stay here with Taylor and Aubrey. I need to go talk to Beca and CR. Okay?"

Sammy nods her head and Aubrey puts a hand on the young girls head, gently pulling her to her. She looks at Stacie who leans in and gives her a quick kiss. "I have an idea," Stacie tells her softly.

Aubrey just nods and gives her a soft smile. "Be careful," Aubrey tells her. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Stacie said and quickly turns and hurries over to Beca while calling out, "CR?"

CR looks from the horde to Stacie. "Yeah?" Stacie waves her over and CR moves to stand beside Stacie. Zeke moves to join them as well.

"Are there any grenades left in the truck?," Stacie asked CR.

"Yeah," CR said. "They're in the bag on the front seat. Should be about half a dozen I think."

"What do you have in mind?," Beca asked, eyes still on Chloe.

"I'm thinking we use the grenades as a distraction," Stacie said. "One of us will have to go out there because we don't have a way of telling Chloe or Mike what we're doing."

"I'll go," Lily said.

"No, Lily," Zeke said. "I should go." He looked out at Mike and Chloe. "I'll get to the truck and-"

"Lily!," Aubrey yells out.

The others look to see Lily already out the door. She moves quickly and silently, ghosting her way past the Sightless, who seem to sense something. They ' _look_ ' about and tilt their heads, but can't track Lily.

Lily moves slowly and very carefully. Each step was taken with precision and extreme care. She extends her foot, setting toes down first and then easing her foot down until the heel makes contact with the ground; it's maddeningly slow. Lily is in the process of lifting her right foot when one of the Sightless leaped from a bench, landing on all fours just four feet away from the silent Korean. Lily manages to maintain her composure and remain perfectly still.

The Sightless' actions are like a dog, swinging its head back and forth, seemingly looking for something. It leaps again, landing just two feet behind Lily.

"Man, it would have totally got me," Zeke said with a shake of his head.

"You and me both," Stacie said. She nodded out the window. "That one's bird-dogging Lily."

"It's doing what?," Beca asks in confusion.

"Bird-dogging. My dad and uncle took me hunting a few times when I was a kid," Stacie answered. "They had a couple dogs that would run into the brush to scare up the birds. Then my dad and uncle would try to shoot the birds as they take flight."

Realization dawns on Beca, as she understands what's happening.

Lily again starts moving towards Chloe in the truck. Ever so slowly she moves, sometimes only inches at a time.

Everyone is holding their collective breaths, releasing them as Lily finally makes it to the truck. They quickly realize the danger isn't over. Lily does a couple hand gestures while mouthing something to Chloe. With great care, working together Lily and Chloe open the driver-side door. Every motion is done excruciatingly slow and, still, they are forced to stop a half-dozen times when a Sightless takes too much interest in their vicinity.

Finally, the door is open enough for Chloe to pass the bag through. They see the redhead hand Lily the bag of grenades and keeps the door open. Lily mouths something to Chloe, who shakes her head no and continues to hold it open. With a sigh of resignation, Lily puts the bag over her shoulder and quickly moves away, much quicker now that the Sightless have moved further away. Her moves are still exceedingly quiet as she moves to the back of the truck. She catches Chloe's eye in the side mirror and nods her head. Chloe nods back and gets ready. She takes a quick look at Mike and he looks like he knows what's going to happen and is already standing at the bus door, ready to move. Chloe looks at Lily again in the mirror and mouths, "Now!"

Lily pulls the pin and throws the grenade as far as she can off to the right. The grenade explodes causing the Sightless to turn as one toward the sound. Lily throws another and a screech goes up as the horde moves toward the sound. Lily doesn't have to tell Chloe to move; she is out of the truck and on her way as soon as she sees the path to the door is clear. Mike meets her at the door and pushes it open so they can both enter. They stop when another grenade explodes and watch as Lily closes the truck door as she passes and comes running through the hotel door just seconds later. Mike closes the door and throws the lock, putting a hand on his chest and letting out the breath he felt like he'd been holding since he walked out the door and onto the bus.

Chloe rushes into Beca's arms and the two stand there hugging each other, never wanting to let go. Jack, Diane, and their little group flock around Mike. Stacie, Emily, and CR grab Lily and pull her into a hug.

"You are one crazy bitch," CR said with admiration, causing both Stacie and Emily to laugh.

Aubrey looks down at Sammy and Taylor and they are looking back up at her. She sees them look over at Beca and Chloe. Aubrey smiles and pushes them toward Beca and Chloe. The young girls run over to the couple and grab onto them, causing Chloe to look down and scoop up Sammy in a hug. Beca hugs Taylor and picks her up as well.

Mike's voice booms out so everyone can hear him. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I need a drink." Everyone laughs and agrees and after one more look at the horde, they all make their way into the dining room.

 ***0*0*0*0***

The group sits around waiting for the planes to fly overhead and watching the horde that is hanging around outside the hotel. Aubrey gets up and stares out at the horde. She furrows her brow and then looks at Lily.

"Lily?," Aubrey calls out. "Do you think we should look for more bandages or medicines in the upper rooms? I mean, it looks like we're going to have about a hundred people to deal with if this mist works."

"Beca and I actually talked about that last night," Stacie jumped in before Lily could respond. "We think once the mist is administered and the horde is knocked out, a few of us should take the truck and find a hospital. Lily can go and tell us what we need to get."

"I'm a registered nurse," Michelle said. "I can help, too."

"I'll drive wherever we need to go," Jack volunteered.

"Let me look and see if I can find a hospital close by," Lily said and got back on the laptop. After a few minutes of searching, she tells them, "It looks like there are a few within a 20-minute drive from here. I think we'll be able to find everything we need."

"I'll go, too," Zeke said. "Jack, you and I will bring weapons." Lily glares at him and Zeke holds up his hand. "It's just as a precaution. We still don't know what this mist will do or not do to those things. We will not shoot any unless it is absolutely necessary."

"He's right, Lily," Chloe said. "I know that at some point they will become human again, but until then we have to protect those who are human."

Lily sighs and nods her head. "I understand. Just, please, don't shoot any unless it's life or death for one of us."

"I promise," Zeke said.

"Me, too," Jack said.

"Thank you," Lily said quietly.

 ***0*0*0*0***

Lily was sitting and thinking. She really didn't want to have to see any more of the Sightless killed. She was trying to figure out a way to stop the others from killing any. Her head jerked up when she heard Peter yelling.

"They're back and moving," Peter yelled.

The others jumped up and went to the front. The Sightless were looking up and screeching.

"The planes must be here," Zeke said.

They watched as the Sightless started running around, unsure of exactly where the noise was coming from. They suddenly all started falling to the ground. Beca rushed over and opened the door. She stepped outside and looked up. She could see three planes flying overhead and felt the mist.

"The planes are flying away," Beca said. "The mist has been dropped and it looks like the first phase is working."

The group inside the hotel watched as the last of the Sightless fell to the ground. They watched to see if there was any movement and saw none.

"How long do you think they'll be out?," Jack asked.

"The website said it could take from 6 to 8 hours for them to start waking up," Lily replied.

"Then I guess now's the time to go get the medical supplies," Mike said.

"Agreed," Zeke said. "Lily? Jack? Michelle?" He looked at each one as he said their names. "You ready?"

They all nod their heads and gathered what they were taking with them. The rest of the gang hugged them and told them to be careful. The four left the hotel, still wary of the Sightless, and got in the truck. Jack drove, maneuvering around the bodies so he didn't run over any.

The others inside watched until they were no longer in sight. "And, now, we wait," Mike said. "Anyone want to help me figure out what to make for lunch?"

 ***0*0*0*0***

The ride was quiet except for the occasional instructions from Lily to Jack on where to go. The four occupants were being vigilant and looking for any of the Sightless, either alive or sleeping off the mist. They pull into the first hospital's parking lot and drove around to the ER entrance.

"This is probably the best way to enter," Lily said.

Jack parked the truck and the four exited the vehicle, still cautiously looking around. They make their way to the entrance and it doesn't open. Jack and Michelle see another set of doors and go over to them. The doors are unlocked and the four enter the building.

They follow Lily who looks around for a supply room or pharmacy. She finds one room but the door is locked.

"Stand back," Zeke said. He takes his gun and shoots at the lock opening the door.

"This is the place we're looking for," Lily said as she entered the room. "Michelle and I will grab the medicines we need. You guys grab bandages, syringes, suture kits, gloves; everything you can think of."

"Here's some boxes we can use," Jack said and handed everyone several small boxes with lids.

The four set to work and had several boxes loaded. They carried these out to the truck and went back for more.

"How much of this stuff do you think we need?," Jack asked.

"Everything we can carry," Lily said. "We don't know what we're going to be dealing with until we see it."

"Did you get some anxiety stuff?," Zeke said. "I'm sure a lot of them will be freaking out not being able to see."

"Yeah," Michelle said. "We got it all."

Lily had Jack and Zeke take four defibrillators to the truck. Michelle thought they should take some oxygen but there were no portable tanks around. They took stock of what they had on the truck and deemed it enough to at least get started. Lily knew they were going to need so much more so she suggested they stop at a pharmacy like a Rite-Aid or a CVS to stock up on what they could find there. They found two along the route back home and cleaned them out of everything they thought would be useful.

The quartet had been gone for almost four hours when they finally made it back to the hotel. The Sightless were still lying unconscious around the front of the hotel.

CR and Mike were sitting in the lobby watching the Sightless for any signs of life when the truck came into view.

"They're back," CR yelled and everyone ran out front to see.

They waited until Jack backed the truck up close to the door before they went out. Stacie and Aubrey kept an eye on the Sightless while the others unloaded the truck.

"Bring everything back here," Chloe said directing them to a huge ballroom. "We figure we'd put all the Sighless in here so we can take care of them."

The hotel group had also been busy waiting for the others to return from their hospital run. As you walk in there were sheets and blankets lined up in rows in the middle of the room to be used as 'beds'. Off to the side, tables were lined up along the walls. There was also a row of tables lined up directly down the middle of the makeshift 'beds" with bottles of water and bowls and spoons.

Lily looked around the room impressed. "This looks good," Lily said.

"We thought they might need some food," Chloe told the group. "And water. That's what the tables down the middle are for. The tables on the outside are for the medicine and everything else. We can put them out based on category or need so they'll be easier for us to find. And these tables here," Chloe points to four tables set up side by side with about three feet of space between them, "are for the more serious cases. Thought it would be easier to work on them if you were standing up."

"The layout is perfect," Michelle said setting down a box. "I'm going to start unloading the meds and get them set up."

"I think we should put the less severe injuries and whatnot at the far end," Lily suggested. "The more severe should be closer to this end where our 'operating' tables are. It will be easier to move them."

"Sounds good," Chloe said. "I'm going to go check on Sammy and Taylor. Beca is supposed to be entertaining them."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Lily and Michelle put the final touches on the 'hospital' room. They have given everyone a crash course of where everything was so they could all help when the time came.

Diane, Stacie, and Aubrey made dinner and the gang all regrouped in the dining room. They were all tired and several wished they hadn't been so excited to get up early this morning as they knew they were going to be in for a long night.

"Emily and I have a couple of large pots of soup ready to go," Chloe said. "We can put them on a cart and wheel them into the ballroom if anyone is hungry since we have everything already set up in there."

"I have a feeling they might be," Lily said. "I don't know how they've survived but something's kept them alive."

"Do you think they'll remember everything they did while under the influence of the infection?," Peter asked.

No one answered as they all contemplated on how the cured would act once they woke up. As a collective, the non-infected never gave a thought to the infected being anything but monsters. Monsters that they had to kill in order to survive. Monsters whose primary enemy was noise and instinctually attacked whatever, or whoever, was making the noise. To them, the non-infected were the monsters.

Everyone gave a startled jolt when Sammy came running into the dining room yelling for Chloe. Chloe was up and had grabbed Sammy up in a flash.

"What's wrong, sweetie?," Chloe asked as she hugged the young girl to her.

"That's what's wrong," Beca said pointing to the outside. "Looks like they're waking up."

"It's showtime guys," Lily said and headed for the doors. Everyone else followed behind.

Chloe stayed behind with Sammy and Taylor to make sure Sammy was okay.

Zeke grabbed Lily's arm. "Wait," he said. "Let's take this slow. We don't want to scare them. We don't know how they'll react."

Lily nodded and they headed outside cautiously. As soon as they opened the doors they could hear moaning and several people calling out for help. They still had the gray ashen pallor of someone who was sick and all looked confused. Zeke got close to the group and the others stood behind him.

"Hello!," he yelled out getting their attention. Heads turned toward the sound of his voice and fear replaced confusion. "My name is Zeke and we are here to help you. We will help you all but please just stay where you are and we will come to you. Do you understand?"

There were murmurs that everyone took for acquiescence.

A woman's voice close by said, "I understand. But, I, I can't see." and then they heard crying. Others around her also said they couldn't see and more crying could be heard. Diane rushed over to the first woman and spoke gently to her.

"What's your name, sweetie?," Diane asked.

"Martha," the woman replied.

'Hi, Martha," Diane said. "I'm Diane. I'm going to help you up and get you inside. Will that be okay?"

The woman nodded and Diane gently took her arms and helped her stand. Beca and Peter ran to the doors and opened them, locking them in place so they remained open. They stepped aside as Diane slowly led Martha into the hotel. Chloe watched as she held Sammy.

"See Sammy," Chloe said quietly. "They're not scary. They just don't feel good."

Sammy watched as Diane led Martha down the hall. She then saw Peter leading a man down the hall.

"Can we help?," Sammy asked.

"Sure," Chloe said. "You can stay with me and we'll go help someone. I bet it will make them feel really good."

"Okay," Sammy said and struggled to get out of Chloe's arms.

Chloe smiled and let Sammy down. She took both girls by the hand and headed outside. They walked over to a woman who was sitting up, hugging herself.

"Hi," Chloe said softly causing the woman to jump slightly. "I'm Chloe and I have Sammy and Taylor with me. We're going to help you inside. Is that okay?"

"Yes, thank you," the woman replied. "I'm Nancy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nancy," Taylor said. "I'm Taylor."

"And I'm Sammy," Sammy said. "Are you hungry?"

The woman gave them a small smile. "It's nice to meet you all. And, yes, I do feel a little hungry."

"Well, then, let's get you inside," Chloe said. "I'm going to take your arm and help you up."

Chloe gently took Nancy's arm and helped her up. Sammy took the woman's hand and said, "Come on. We'll be gentle."

Nancy let out a small laugh and Chloe gave her arm a squeeze. The trio led Nancy into the hotel and down the hall to the ballroom. They got Nancy settled and gave her a bottle of water.

"We'll get you some soup in just a little bit," Chloe told her. "We still have a lot of people to help get inside. Okay?"

"Okay," Nancy said. Chloe started to leave and Nancy reached out to grab her arm. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Chloe said and patted the woman's hand. "We'll come check on you later."

This went on for a couple of hours until Zeke led a man in and announced he was the last one. Lily and Michelle had been busy but found, for the most part, that there were few major injuries. A couple of people needed stitches but the rest just had minor scrapes and bruises. Lily was surprised to find that most wounds, such as bite marks, were healed and didn't show any signs of complications.

Sammy and Taylor helped distribute water to whoever needed or asked for it. Chloe, Stacie, and Aubrey brought in the soup and helped get everyone fed. Lily had the girls ladle out a small amount so they wouldn't get sick, telling them that they should eat small servings over the course of a few hours. A few did get sick but the others managed to keep the soup down.

It was a long night and the cured seemed to take to the women better than the men so the guys decided to take turns on watch duty that night. Lily was dead on her feet and Beca told her she should get some rest. If they needed her they'd come get her.

Sammy and Taylor were sleeping on the floor on a bed Chloe had made up for them. No one wanted to go to their rooms so they slept in the ballroom with the cured so they could give whatever aid was needed.

Emily was sitting with her back against the wall and Chloe sat down next to her.

"How are you doing?," Chloe asked the younger girl.

"Tired," Emily said. "And overwhelmed. And really, really good. I couldn't do much with my shoulder but I was able to help a few eat."

"Why don't you try and get some rest," Chloe said smiling at the girl. "I think there's some room with Sammy and Taylor."

"I think I'll just stay here for now," Emily said. "Those girls are like little octopuses and kick in their sleep."

Chloe laughed and got up. "Okay. Sleep well. I'm going to take my chances with the two little octopuses and get some sleep."

"Good night, Chloe," Emily said as Chloe walked away.

"Night, Em," Chloe threw back over her shoulder. She walked over to where Beca and the others were huddled together. She put her arms around Beca from the back and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey," Beca said back. "We were just talking and CR, Stacie, and Aubrey are going to stay awake in case anyone needs anything. The rest of us are going to try and get some rest."

"Yeah," Aubrey said. "We think tomorrow we're going to try and get them into showers and some different clothes. Or the hospital gowns Lily and them brought back with them. We think they'll feel better once they get cleaned up."

"Sounds good," Chloe said and yawned. "Sorry."

"Most everyone is asleep so it should stay quiet for a bit," Michelle said. "If anyone is in pain or hurting just come get me or Lily."

"You got it," CR said.

"Wake us if you need a break or help with something," Chloe said. "I'm going to turn in."

"Me, too," Beca said. Chloe took Beca's hand and they bid everyone a good night. They walked over to where Sammy and Taylor were sleeping. Chloe let out a small laugh.

"Emily was right," Chloe said. "They do look like little octopuses. Octopi? My brain's too tired to figure it out."

Beca took Chloe's arm and pulled her down to the floor where they snuggled up to Sammy and Taylor. They were asleep in seconds.

 ***0*0*0*0***

The next morning CR heard moaning and was trying to figure out where it was coming from. She was walking around the room when she realized it was coming from Emily. She went over to her and gently shook her awake.

"Em," CR said quietly. "Em, wake up."

Emily's eyes slowly opened and tried to focus. When CR became more than just a blurry blob she smiled.

"Hey, CR," Emily said and yawned. She grimaced as she went to stretch and grabbed her shoulder.

"You were moaning in your sleep," CR said, her concern evident in both her face and voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Emily said with a moan. "Just my shoulder really hurts."

"You feel really warm, too," CR said as she put her hand on Emily's forehead and face. "I'm going to get Lily."

CR rushes over and wakes Lily. "Emily's in pain and I think she has a fever. She's trying to play it off but I think there might be something wrong."

Lily jumps up and she and CR rush over to Emily.

"Hey, Emily," Lily said. "Can I take a look at your shoulder?"

Emily nods her head and Lily unbuttons her shirt. CR helps Lily remove Emily's shirt completely. Lily then carefully removes the adhesive covering the bandage and pulls it up to look at it. The would is bright red and warm when Lily touches it.

"I think it might be infected," Lily tells Emily. "Let's get you on the table over there and I can check it better. Okay?"

Emily just nods again. "I'll carry her," CR said and quickly picks Emily up to carry her to the table. Everyone is waking up now and sees CR carrying Emily. Chloe and Beca both jump up and follow them. Stacie and Aubrey rush over when they notice something happening.

"Is she okay?," Stacie asked as they join the others around the table.

"I think her wound is infected," Lily said. "I just need to check it thoroughly."

Everyone stands around, looks of concern and worry on every one of their faces. Lily completely removes the bandage and tosses it aside. She uses the penlight and shines it directly on the wound, using her fingers to feel around the outer edges. She frowns and looks at Emily who is staring right at her.

"It does look like it's infected," Lily told the young girl. "I'm going to get Michelle to take a look at it. She's better equipped to know what exactly to do for you."

"You stay," Aubrey said. "I'll get Michelle" Aubrey ran to wake the sleeping nurse.

"Emily, we're going to take off your bra," Lily said. "Stacie, could you get a sheet or something to cover her stomach and chest?"

Stacie rushes over to grab a sheet as Chloe and Lily remove Emily's bra. Stacie covers Emily just as Aubrey and Michelle make it to the table. Michelle takes Lily's place at Emily's side.

"How you doing, Emily?," Michelle asked as she takes a look at Emily's shoulder. "Can you tell me how you're feeling?"

"My shoulder hurts," Emily responds. "And I feel kind of warm."

"Okay," Michelle said. "Now, I'm going to have to touch your wound. Is that okay?"

Emily nods her head and watches as Michelle puts on a pair of latex gloves.

"Look at me, sweetie," Chloe said and Emily turns her head toward the redhead. Chloe took Emily's hand in hers. "Squeeze if it hurts. I can take it." She gives Emily a wink.

Lily hands Michelle the penlight and Michelle shines it on the wound. She then uses two fingers to gently press against the wound. Emily lets out a painful moan and squeezes Chloe's hand.

"It's okay, Em," Chloe said. "You're doing great."

Michelle pulls back and looks around at everyone. She looks back down at Emily. "Emily?" The young girl turns her head toward her. "I'm afraid it is infected. I also think we're going to have to take out the stitches so we can clean out the wound really well. We have better meds now so it shouldn't be too bad. We'll also want to make sure you take some antibiotics. Okay?"

Emily nods. "Okay."

Michelle and Lily go over to the various tables and gather what they need. The come back to the table and Michelle tells Emily she's going to use a numbing spray which acts as a local anesthetic. "I'm not going to lie, you'll feel some pain when we clean out the wound, but this will help so it shouldn't be too bad. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah," Emily said. "Do what you got to do."

"Okay," Michelle said and sprayed the wound. She looks around at the other girls. "I may need your help in keeping her still when I'm cleaning out the wound."

The girls all nod. "Whatever you need," Aubrey said.

Zeke, Peter, Jack, and Mike come into the room. Zeke sees the girls all around the table and goes to see what's going on. At the same time, several of the cured were waking up confused and agitated.

"Peter and Jack," Michelle called out. "Could you come over here?" The two men walk over and ask her what they can do. "I need you two and Zeke to help hold down Emily while I clean out her wound. You girls should go help our other patients."

The girls are concerned but agree and move to check on the others. Emily pulls on Chloe's hand.

"Please stay," Emily begs her. Chloe nods her head and grips Emily's hand tighter. Beca gives Chloe's arm a squeeze and follows the others.

"Can you feel that?," Michelle asked as she pressed lightly on the wound.

Emily shakes her head. Michelle starts working to remove the stitches and use a scalpel to reopen the wound. She grabs a pair of tweezers and uses them to separate the skin so she can see inside the wound, using the penlight to help see better.

"It doesn't look too bad," Michelle said. She reaches for the various items she needs and gets to work. The guys hold Emily down when she starts to squirm a bit. Chloe hasn't let go of Emily's hand. After a few minutes, Michelle tells the guys they can let go. Emily is breathing in and out quite heavily but seems to be doing much better already.

"I'm going to stitch you back up now," Michelle tells Emily. "And then we'll get you those antibiotics."

Emily smiles and whispers a thank you. The guys wish Emily well and go to help with the other patients. As soon as they see the guys walk away from the table, CR, Aubrey, and Stacie take their places, wanting to check on Emily.

"I'm sorry, Emily," Lily said. "I should have done a better job."

"No, Lily," Emily said looking at her. "You didn't have all the necessary materials and you did a great job. You saved my life and I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

Lily still looks upset at not doing a better job on Emily. Michelle sees this and as she's putting in the new stitches, said, "She's right you know. This could have been much worse but you're handiwork to get the bullet out and get her stable with whatever was available, was on target. You should be proud."

Chloe reaches across Emily and gives Lily's arm a reassuring squeeze. Zeke comes back.

"I'm glad you girls are all here," Zeke said. "I sent a message to my buddy through the DOD website last night. I let him know that we had about a hundred of the cured here at the hotel. He sent a message back this morning saying that they would be sending trucks to help transport them to the base where they can get more specialized care."

"That's great news," Stacie said. "Did he say when they would be here?"

"Probably not for a day or two," Zeke said. "I sent a message back saying we could manage until then." He looks around at the girls. "We can manage until then, right?"

"It won't be a problem," Chloe says for all of them. "Although some of us should get into the kitchen and get some breakfast started."

"I'll help," Aubrey offers.

"No, Brey," Chloe immediately said. "You, Stacie, and CR should go to bed and get some rest. We can handle things."

"If you're sure," Aubrey said.

"I'll get Beca and Diane to help," Chloe said. "Zeke and the other guys can help Lily and Michelle with whatever they need until we get back."

"Sounds like a plan to me," CR said as she yawned and stretched. "Wake me in time for dinner."

The others laughed at her and said they would. Stacie, Aubrey, and CR left to go to their rooms. Chloe looked down at Emily.

"You okay?," she asked.

"I'm good," Emily said and smiled. "My shoulder is already feeling better."

"We'll bring you something to eat in a little bit," Chloe tells her.

Chloe gathers the others and heads for the kitchen. They decide to make oatmeal since it's something they can make a big batch of and feed everyone at the same time.

"So, Diane," Chloe said. "What's next for you and Jack?"

"We were talking about heading back to Atlanta," Diane said. "That's where we were living when the outbreak occurred. Michelle and Peter are from there as well. We're all going to travel back together."

"What about Mike?," Beca asked.

"He's heading down to Florida," Diane tells them. "He's originally from there and he wants to see if he can find any of his family. What about you girls? What are you going to do?"

"Well, we're heading back to Barden," Chloe said. "Which is only about an hour from Atlanta. We really need to figure out a way to keep in touch. We're all family now."

"I'm sure if there's a way to keep in touch," Beca said with a smile. "You'll be the one to figure it out."

"I love you, too," Chloe said and blew her a kiss across the table.

"You two are so cute together," Diane said.

Beca opened her mouth to say something and Chloe shut her down. "Don't say it," Chloe warned.

"What?," Beca said feigning innocence as she walked over to Chloe. "I was just going to agree with her." She looked innocently at Chloe and gave a quick kiss. Chloe couldn't help but smile.

 ***0*0*0*0***

The next 48 hours were exhausting for the original survivors. But they wouldn't have had it any other way. They managed to get most of the cured showered and into something clean to wear, for most it was a hospital gown. For some, it was something found during the search of the rest of the rooms that was finally done. They even helped them gain some confidence in moving around the hotel somewhat.

Sammy loved to help Nancy, the first woman she helped Chloe bring into the hotel. She would take Nancy's hand and walk her to the bathroom and back. Taylor followed Lily and Michelle around everywhere they went. She decided she wanted to become a nurse and was trying to learn as much as she could from the two women.

On the second night, everyone had been fed and most were sleeping. The caretakers were sitting around chatting quietly to each other. Beca again asked everyone about their plans. Lily and CR were still going to help take care of the cured. Zeke told them they should go with the military guys when they came to transport the cured. He was planning on asking to be assigned to help them.

"We do know them fairly well already," CR said. "It's also a good place to start."

"I agree," Lily said. "Thanks, Zeke. It will be a pleasure to continue working with you."

Zeke smiled at the quiet Korean and she smiled back at him. This did not go unnoticed by Chloe.

"Well, Stacie told me about your invitation to go back to Barden with you," Aubrey said. "And I couldn't think of any place else I'd rather be."

Chloe squealed and ran over to hug Aubrey, pulling Stacie in as well. Jack and Diane spoke of going back to Atlanta, and Peter and Michelle said they were doing the same.

"This guy finally decided that I was his girlfriend," Michelle said with a loving look at the man. "So, of course, I have to see where it goes."

"Congratulations, you two," Chloe gushes. She looks over and sees Emily sadly looking down at the floor. "Em? What's wrong?"

"I, um, just don't know what I'm going to do," Emily said.

"Dude!," Beca exclaimed. She runs over to the younger brunette and gently pulls her into a hug. "I am so sorry. I totally forgot to talk to you. We want you to come to Barden with us. We're all going to move into my dad's house. There's plenty of room for you, me, Chloe, Aubrey, Stacie, and, of course, Sammy and Taylor."

"You have to come, Emily," Sammy said and looked at her with her big brown eyes.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "We like playing with you."

"Oh, my stars," Emily said with a tear in her eye. "How can I say no to that? I'm so in." She pulled both girls in for a hug.

"Ladies," Zeke said causing the Bellas to look at him. "I was wondering since we have three vehicles that maybe we should-"

"Let me stop you right there," Beca said. "The truck belongs to Chloe. She picked it out, she drove it off the lot, she was driving it when we were attacked. It's hers. You guys can decide whatever you want regarding the cargo van and bus. But the truck is off limits."

"And that's why I love her so much," Chloe said with a huge smile on her face.

"Whipped," Stacie coughed, causing the others to laugh. Beca just blushed and glared at her.

"Lily, CR, and I will be hitching a ride with the military," Zeke said.

"Jack, I think you guys should take the bus," Mike said. "There's only one of me and I just need something to get me down to Florida. The bus would be more comfortable for you four to travel in."

"Thanks, Mike," Jack said. "Sounds like we got it all figured out."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Everyone was exhausted. Mike, Diane, Aubrey, Stacie, and CR, were sitting in the dining room having coffee. They were taking a breather before they started making dinner. They were all startled when they heard someone banging on the front door. They all stood and looked across the lobby to see several men in uniform, as well as several trucks and hospital buses pulling up out front.

"Go tell the others," Mike said as he rushed to the open the doors. CR hurried back to let Zeke and everyone know what was happening.

Everyone save Lily and Michelle ran out to the front. They stood and watched as Mike spoke with a Colonel. Zeke made his way over to the two men. He stopped and stood at attention and saluted the Colonel. The Colonel returned the salute and said, "At ease, Sergeant."

"Sir," Zeke said. "I would like to be assigned to accompany these survivors to the base. And also be assigned to assist with their care once we arrive."

"Sergeant," Colonel Samuels said. "We thought you were dead. Where's Walp?"

"Um, he didn't make it, sir," Zeke said.

"I'm sorry," the Colonel said. "I will want a full report once we're back on base. Now give me an assessment of what we have here."

"Yes, sir," Zeke said. "We have approximately 100 of the infection survivors in the ballroom down that hallway. We have taken care of their injuries to their best of our abilities and have fed them. There are a dozen or so who will not be able to walk out on their own. The rest are mobile."

"Alright, Sergeant," the Colonel said. "Let's get started loading these folks so we can transport them."

The Colonel goes back outside and is barking orders at the soldiers. There is suddenly a flurry of activity as stretchers are grabbed and trucks are opened and ready.

"What's going on, Lily?," Nancy asked.

"The military is here to transport you all to Fort Benning," Lily tells her. "They have facilities set up that will help you much more than we can."

"So, we're all leaving?," another asked.

"Yeah," Lily said. "Zeke, CR, and I are going with you. We're going to continue to be with you and also help others like you."

Lily and Michelle both look up when they hear a bunch of noise at the door. The patients are scared but Michelle calms them down. "It's okay. It's the military folks we were just telling you about."

Colonel Samuels walks over to Lily and Michelle. "Could you direct us to those who are not able to walk on their own? We have stretchers to take them out on. We would like to move them first so their transport can be on its way."

Lily nods and shows them to those who were not mobile. Chloe came in with Sammy and Taylor and looked for Nancy. They smiled when they saw her and went over to her.

"Hey, Nancy," Sammy said. She gently hugged the woman and Nancy hugged her back.

"Hi, Sammy," Nancy said. "I'm glad you're here. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye and thank you."

"I'll miss you, Nancy," Taylor said and also hugged Nancy.

"I'll miss you, too," Nancy said.

The hotel survivors assisted the soldiers in helping the cured into transport vehicles. Colonel Samuels had okayed Lily and CR going with them. The Bellas were huddled in a group saying their goodbyes. Many hugs were given and many tears were shed. Chloe pulled Zeke in and gave him a hug and the other Bellas joined in.

"You take care of yourself, Zeke," Chloe told him teary-eyed. "And if you make it to Barden, you'd better look us up."

"I will," Zeke said.

The last of the cured were loaded and Colonel Samuels thanked the Bellas and the others for their assistance in the aid and comfort of the cured. The last transport vehicle pulled out and the group moved as one into the dining room, silently sending up prayers for everyone who just drove away.

"I guess we'll leave for Barden in the morning," Beca said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, we'll probably head out at the same time," Diane said. "We'll be practically following you most of the way."

"Mike, you going to okay driving alone?," Aubrey asked.

"Yeah," Mike said. "I used to be a long-haul trucker before all this started. Being alone and driving is what I did."

"I know it seems like all we've done is eat or talked about eating," Stacie said. "But, I'm kind of hungry. What do you say we have a nice steak dinner for our last night together. I know there were some in the freezer."

"Sounds good to me," Peter said. "I haven't had a good steak in ages."

Everyone headed into the kitchen to help with their final dinner. Beca grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her back.

"Something wrong, Becs?," Chloe asked.

Beca smiled and kissed her. "No, nothing's wrong. Everything is finally right. I love you, Chloe, and this may seem cliche but the last 10 months has made me realize that time is not necessarily on our side. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Chloe. When we get back to Barden, and as soon as we are able to, I want to marry you. Will you marry me?"

"I love you, too, Beca," Chloe said with tears in her eyes. "I would love to marry you."

Chloe leaned in and kissed Beca. They pulled back with smiles on their faces. Without another word, they joined hands and walked into the kitchen, where the laughter and conversation was in full swing.

Tonight they were going to share one more dinner with their new family. Tomorrow they would go home. Tomorrow would be the beginning of a new phase in their lives. Tomorrow would be the first day of the rest of their lives.

* * *

 **There it is guys. The end of my zombie AU. I wanted to do a different zombie fic than most I've read. I didn't want it to be all blood and guts. I wanted something a little more suspenseful and focused more on the human aspect of the survivors as well as the infected/zombies. I think I accomplished what I set out to do and I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **There will be one more chapter - an Epilogue; five years later. Until then, happy reading.**


	10. Epilogue

**Hey everyone. My apologies for posting a day late; life happened. I hope you enjoy the final installment.**

* * *

 _ **Five** **Years Later:**_

Chloe smiled as she watched Beca mouthing the words to the final scene of "The Breakfast Club." She did this every year.

" _Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal...Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club."_

Beca smiled as the mouthed the last words, remembering Jesse. It has become a yearly tradition to watch the movie in memory of Jesse on the anniversary of his death. Even though they now lived in their own house, Aubrey and Stacie would come over and watch with them. Emily had been there the first year but moved back to California when she found her mother's name on the website the military had set up for survivors who were looking for family and friends. Mrs. Junk was left blind by the infection so Emily moved back home to take care of her. Emily always watched "The Breakfast Club" on that day since she knew how much it meant to Beca.

Chloe used the remote to turn off the movie. Sammy and Taylor sitting on either side of Beca each hugged her. Stacie and Aubrey smiled at the interaction.

"I still hate movies," Beca said causing everyone to chuckle. It was the same thing she said every year.

"You watch them with us," Sammy said. "You love to sing to-"

"Okay, okay," Beca said covering her mouth. "That's enough." She leans down and whispers in the 10-year-old's ear, "That's supposed to be our little secret."

"Oh, leave her alone, Becs," Chloe said. "We all know you're just a big old softie."

"Yeah, Beca," Aubrey said. "You don't fool us."

"Fine. Whatever," Beca said. "I'm ordering Chinese." Beca got her phone and went to the kitchen to place the order for their food.

It had taken a while but life was pretty much back to the way it was before the outbreak. The military quickly worked to ensure that power and communications were up and running across the United States within the first few months. Times were hard but surviving business owners got their businesses up and running again. The government was back on track, having had an election two years ago for a new President and Vice President. The country had been under military rule while the country was getting back on its feet. Beca and the girls were most excited about the fact that Chinese and Pizza places were back to delivering on the regular.

Twelve-year-old Taylor was just sitting quietly, eyes downcast. Chloe moved to sit next to her.

"Hey, kiddo," Chloe said. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Taylor said. "This just always makes me miss my mom and dad. I mean, I love you guys, but I still remember them and wish I knew what happened to them."

Chloe pulls her into a side-hug and kisses the top of her head. "Oh, sweetie," Chloe said. "It's okay to miss them. I miss so many of my friends and family, too. We don't stop loving them just because they are no longer with us."

"Yeah, Tay," Sammy said giving her sister a hug. "Plus, you have me, Mom and Mama. We made out okay."

"Just okay?," Chloe said with a smile.

"Better than okay," Sammy said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," Taylor said and smiled. "You guys are the best." Chloe hugged both girls to her.

"Food will be here in about 20 minutes," Beca said as she came back into the room. "Hey, you're having a cuddle session without me!" With that Beca launched herself and landed on top of Chloe and the two girls.

The cuddle session turned into a tickle war which Beca lost as usual. They all flopped back on the sofa laughing and panting.

"Hey, did you guys make your reservations for DC yet?," Stacie asked.

"Yep," Chloe said. "We're so excited for you guys."

"I know," Beca said. "You do realize you're going to be putting Lily and Zeke out of business."

Aubrey laughed. "Somehow I think those two will manage just fine."

"I can't believe we're actually friends with someone, well, three someones, who won the Nobel Peace Prize," Beca said. "CR, Lily, and Zeke traveled all over the country for over a year helping all the cured and cleaning up some the areas that suffered the most damage. I'm glad they settled in Georgia and opened the _Bellas Home for the Blind_."

"I can't believe Lily got Ramada to give them the hotel," Stacie said. "CR said that Lily barely said a word but the executives gave in after Lily stared them down with that look she has." Stacie shivered. "I love Lily to death, but I still get goosebumps when I think about that look."

"Yeah, well, I am very proud of our best friends," Chloe said looking at Aubrey and Stacie. "Getting recognized by the President for their working in helping find a cure for the blindness the infection caused is a big deal."

"Well, the cure was already out there," Stacie said modestly. "The mist the military developed to help with the infection just needed a little tweaking. And we happened to be the ones to perfect the formula to help the blindness."

"I can't believe you are actually a chemist," Beca said shaking her head.

"Aca-believe it," Aubrey said causing everyone to laugh and Beca to roll her eyes.

"Have you talked to Emily lately?," Chloe asked. "How's her mom?"

"She's doing great," Aubrey with a smile. "Her eyesight is at about eighty percent. The drops are working for her." Aubrey furrowed her brow. "I wish we could figure out why the drops work for some but not for others."

"Don't fret about it," Chloe said looking at her best friend. "Your drops have a ninety percent success rate. Don't focus too much on those it didn't help. You'll drive yourself nuts."

There is a knock at the door. "Food's here," Beca and Sammy both yell as they jump up and run to the door.

"I swear those two are so alike it's not funny," Aubrey said with a laugh.

 ***0*0*0*0***

It was time for their trip to DC and Beca was checking in to their hotel while Chloe sent a text to Aubrey letting her know they were there and in the lobby. Taylor and Sammy were checking out the brochures on things to see and do in the Nation's capital.

"Lily!," Sammy suddenly squealed causing both Beca and Chloe to jerk their heads over to the hotel doors.

Sammy went running over to Lily and throw her arms around the woman. "Sammy!," Lily said. "Look how big you've gotten." Lily hugged Sammy back and Taylor was next in line.

"Taylor, you look stunning," Lily said. Just then Zeke and CR came through the doors, smiling and laughing as they caught sight of Sammy and Taylor hugging Lily.

"What about us?," CR asked and opened her arms as Taylor came rushing over.

"CR!," Taylor said. "I didn't know you guys were coming."

"It's a surprise," Zeke said. He hugged the two young girls. "It's great to see you girls. It's been too long."

Beca came up behind Chloe and wrapped her arm around the redhead's waist. The two stood as their girls talked animatedly with the trio. CR finally looked up and smiled at the couple.

"Beca. Chloe," CR said as she walked over to the pair. "It's great to see you. I see married life agrees with you."

"Totes," Chloe said with a big smile, pulling CR into a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good," CR said and pulled back from the hug.

The two groups decide to get settled and meet in the hotel's restaurant for dinner. Just as they are about to go their separate ways they hear, "What up, Pitches?!"

All heads turn to see Fat Amy coming through the doors, followed closely behind by Bumper.

"Amy!," Chloe and Beca both squeal as they rush over to the Aussie. The three hug and then CR and Lily join them.

Sammy, Taylor, and Zeke stand back and watch as the women start talking and laughing about something.

"Who is that?," Sammy asked Zeke.

"That's Amy," Zeke responded. "She was in the Bellas with your moms back in college. She was also a resident at the _Bella Home_ before she got her sight back. She's got almost one hundred percent of her sight back. The guy with her is Bumper, her boyfriend."

"Hey, are these the mini-Mitchells I've been hearing so much about?," Amy said as she walked over to give Zeke a hug.

Chloe put her arm around Taylor and introduced her to Amy. Beca did the same with Sammy. They both said it was nice to meet her.

"What?," Amy said. "You've been with Chloe for five years and you haven't learned to hug someone when you meet them? Come here you two." Amy grabs them both in an almost bone-crushing hug.

"Can't breathe," Sammy said.

Beca laughed. "We were just going to get settled in our room and plan to meet everyone in the restaurant for dinner. You and Bumper should join us."

Stacie and Aubrey finally make it down to the lobby and the hugs and everything start all over. It is a surprise to the two that they are all there. An even bigger surprise came through the doors as they were still greeting each other.

Emily and Katherine Junk came into the lobby. Sammy and Taylor see them first and go running over to hug Emily.

"Mom," Emily said. "This is Sammy and Taylor."

"It's so nice to see you girls," Katherine tells them. "And, yes I can see you. You're both so beautiful. Emily has told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Taylor said and gave the woman a hug.

"Emily!," Chloe squeals and the hugs start all over.

Katherine has tears in her eyes when she saw Stacie and Aubrey. "You don't know what it means to me to finally get to thank you ladies in person. My eyesight is almost ninety percent restored thanks to you. And, Emily told me how you all helped her during the outbreak. So, thank you. Thank all of you."

Everyone was wiping tears from their eyes as Katherine hugged Aubrey and Stacie. Zeke pulled Lily close to him and she smiled up at him.

"Um, guys," Zeke said getting everyone's attention. "The ceremony for Stacie and Aubrey isn't until tomorrow evening and we, Lily and I, were hoping you had the morning free to attend our, um, our wedding."

A gasp is heard throughout the group. "Seriously?," Chloe asked.

"Yes," Zeke said. "She finally said yes and we want to do it while we have everyone here."

The group again starts hugging and talking about the wedding. Sammy and Taylor stand off to the side.

"We are never going to get to our room," Sammy said with a sigh. "And, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Taylor said with a laugh. "I swear and you and Mama are so much alike."

"Yeah," Sammy said. "We're both badasses!"

Both girls started laughing and jerked their heads when they heard a loud gasp come from Chloe. They saw her looking at the door and their eyes moved in that direction.

"Beca!," Chloe said grabbing onto Beca's arm and shaking her as she pointed to the door.

"Geesh, Chlo," Beca said. "Stop shaking-" Beca's mouth dropped open in surprise when she saw who was standing by the door.

Stacie and Aubrey furrowed their brows and turned to see what they were looking at. Stacie gasped in surprise and took off running, Beca close on her heels.

"Donald!," Stacie squealed before throwing herself into his arms. She let the tears fall as she hugged the man. Donald saw Beca stop behind Stacie so he took one arm from around the leggy brunette and held it out to Beca. With tears running down her face she fell into the offered arm and let Donald pull her into the hug.

The three finally pull apart. "Dude, we thought you were-," Beca stopped herself.

"I know," Donald said quietly. "After we were cured, I was in a bad place in my head. I couldn't see and I was besieged with memories of the things I did while I was infected. I don't want to talk about it but it weighed heavy on my mind. I wandered around a bit, getting help from those who weren't infected. Then I heard about the eye drops to help cure the blindness. I wasn't going to try them because I didn't think I deserved to see again. But, then when I heard that none other than Stacie Conrad and Aubrey Posen helped develop the drops, I had to do it."

Stacie wiped at the tears running down her face. "It's really good to see you, Donald," Aubrey said, running her hand up and down Stacie's back to help calm her.

"And I have you and Stacie," Donald said giving Aubrey a smile, "to thank for me being able to say, it's good to _see_ you, too."

"This is like a Barden reunion," Amy said. "Let's get our stuff settled in our rooms and meet back down here soon. I'm hungry."

"Finally," Sammy said dramatically as everyone headed for the elevators.

Beca told Chloe she'd meet her and the girls up in their room. She then grabbed Amy and pulled her aside.

"What's up, Shawshank?," Amy asked as she was dragged over to a chair in the lobby.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Beca said. "What's up with Bumper? He hasn't said anything since you guys got here."

"Don't tell anyone but he's embarrassed," Amy said.

"Why?," Beca asked.

"Because he was really scared and he hid out the entire time the infection outbreak happened," Amy said. "You remember the day it started and I got off the bus trying to find him?"

"I'll never forget it," Beca said.

"Well, Bumper was hiding under his bed," Amy said. "He heard the zombie things attacking everyone. He even heard me screaming for him. But he stayed hidden. Then when it seemed clear he ran. He saw a bunch of the zombies and got scared and ran into the diner near the Treble house. Someone else was hiding in there. They were together for about a month when the other person, some guy named Seth, decided to go out to see if things were okay. He never made it back. So, Bumper was by himself for almost 9 months. No one to talk to but himself. It kinda made him go off the deep end. He has nightmares and flashbacks. It's been five years and he still only talks when it's necessary. He's afraid one of those zombie things will hear him and come for him."

"Wow," Beca said. "That's rough. How did you find each other?"

"Some people found him after it was over and assured him everyone was okay," Amy said. "He found my name on the website for survivors and came to CR and Lily's place looking for me. He's stuck around since."

"I'm sorry for what happened to him," Beca said. "And to you. But, I'm glad you found each other again. I know how much you two love each other."

"Thanks, Beca," Amy said. "I'm glad we are all able to come together again for Stacie and Aubrey. If it weren't for them, I don't know that I'd be here."

"Amy," Beca said.

"No, Beca," Amy said. "I'm serious. Being one of those things was horrible. It's like my brain knew I was sick but the sounds were so bad it turned me into something I don't even want to think about."

Beca watched as Amy wiped at the tears that fell down her face. She was not used to this emotional and serious Amy. She wished that she could see the old Amy again. She grabbed her friend in a hug.

"Listen," Beca said. "Maybe you need to be around friends more. Why don't you and Bumper move back to Barden? Then you'll have me, Chloe, Stacie, and Aubrey. You can talk to any one of us. We didn't get the infection but we can help you if you start feeling like things are too much for you."

"I'll talk to Bumper," Amy said pulling out of the hug. "Enough of this emotional stuff. I'm hungry. Let's go get everyone and eat."

"Let's go," Beca said and the two stood. Amy grabbed Beca in another hug.

"Thank you," Amy said.

 ***0*0*0*0***

The next morning Beca, Chloe, and the girls were just sitting down to breakfast in the hotel restaurant when Chloe saw another familiar face. She smiled and told Beca she'd be right back. She walked out to the lobby.

"Jessica," Chloe said softly so she didn't frighten the girl.

"Chloe?," Jessica said.

"Yes," Chloe said. "I'm going to hug you if that's okay."

"I would never say no to a Chloe Beale hug," Jessica said.

Chloe pulled the girl into her arms and hugged her. Jessica squeezed Chloe tight for a moment before pulling back.

"Oh, let me introduce you to my brother," Jessica said. "Chloe this is my brother Jackson. He's, um, been taking care of me."

Chloe held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jackson. Would you two like to join us for breakfast? We just sat down. I know Beca would love to see you."

"Um, I don't know," Jessica said hesitating.

"We'd love to," Jackson said. "Jess, it will do you good to be around people you know."

"Okay," Jessica said quietly.

"Great," Chloe said and smiled. "Come join us after you check in."

"We will," Jackson said.

Chloe went back to the table. "Jessica's here," she told Beca.

"I saw," Beca said. "How's she doing?"

"She seems okay, I guess," Chloe said. "Her brother is with her and she said he's been taking care of her."

"Does anyone know why she doesn't try the drops?," Beca asked.

"I don't think so," Chloe responded. "Personally, I think it's because of Ashley."

Beca called the waitress over and had another table added to theirs. Jessica and Jackson came in and Jackson helped Jessica sit before taking a seat himself.

"Jessica, Jackson. I'd like you to meet our daughters, Sammy and Taylor," Chloe said.

"Hi, I'm Taylor," Taylor said.

"I'm Sammy," Sammy said. "It's very nice to meet you both."

"It's very nice to meet you, as well," Jackson said.

"You both sound so grown up," Jessica said. "How old are you?"

"I'm ten and Taylor is twelve," Sammy said. "May I ask you a personal question, Jessica?"

"Honey, I don't think that's a good idea," Beca said.

"No, it's okay," Jessica with a soft smile. "I have a feeling I know what you're going to ask. Go ahead."

"Why don't you use the eye drops?," Sammy asked. "Aunt Stacie and Aunt Brey worked hard to get the formula right. And it's worked on like 90% of the people that have used it."

Beca and Chloe look at each other, worried that it was too much for Jessica. Jessica gave a sad smile toward Sammy.

"You know, Sammy," Jessica said. "You're the first person outside my family that has asked me that question."

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Sammy said looking down at the table.

"Oh no, Sammy," Jessica said. "I'm glad you asked. You see, my girlfriend Ashley and I both got the infection on the same day. I made sure to stick with her everywhere we wandered to after that because I was worried about her."

"Did you tell her that?," Sammy asked.

"We couldn't really communicate," Jessica said. "It's hard to explain but our minds seemed to be okay, but then there would be these sounds that hurt our ears so bad that we kind of lost of our minds in a way. All I wanted to do was to stop whatever was making the sound. It was much better when there was quiet. But, the sounds affected Ashley differently. She became very...um, violent. She would sometimes attack one of us because we would screech when the sounds hurt us. Am I making sense to you guys?"

"Yes, actually, it makes a lot of sense," Sammy said before anyone else could speak. "But, it doesn't explain why you don't try to see again."

"Sammy," Chloe said.

"No, it's really okay, Chloe," Jessica said. "One day we were just wandering around and there was a loud noise, which I know now were planes. Then it rained and we went to sleep. When we woke up we were in a field or something. We felt better but we couldn't see. Some nice people found us and helped us. We ended up on a base of some kind and doctors worked with us to get us back to 'normal'. Ashley remembered everything she did when we had the infection and it was driving her crazy. She couldn't handle it so she took a bunch of pills to make it go away."

"She died?," Sammy asked sadly.

"Yes, she died," Jessica said as a tear fell down her cheek. "I was so angry and upset with her for leaving me behind that I kind of gave up. But I also miss her so much that if I can't see her, I don't want to see anyone or anything."

Sammy thought for a moment. No one else said anything; they just waited to hear what Sammy was going to say next.

"But don't you want Ashley to know you're okay without her?," Sammy asked. "I think that's why she killed herself. So you wouldn't have to be burdened with taking care of her. She knew that you would be okay without her, you just have to figure out that you'll be okay with her. I remember when we were little and our grandma died, our mother said that we should live like we did when she was alive to honor her memory. If we don't then we are showing dishonor to her. Don't you think Ashley wants that for you? To remember her when she was okay and to let her know you still love her by living your life to the fullest."

The waitress had come by to take their breakfast orders but could sense something special was happening at the table. She looked at Chloe and mouthed "I'll come back." Chloe gave her a smile and a nod. The waitress left and Chloe wiped a tear that had fallen. Sammy was young, but she was giving Jessica some sage advice.

"I, uh, never thought of that way," Jessica said. After a moment Jessica sent a small smile in Sammy's direction. "Are you sure you're only ten? I can't see you so I'm not sure because you sound like someone much older and wiser than a ten-year-old."

"Yep, I'm ten," Sammy said. "And I'm starving. Where's our waitress anyway."

Jessica laughed. "Yeah, now she sounds like she's ten. And, a lot like Beca."

Everybody laughed and Beca got the waitress's attention so everyone could place their orders. Chloe hugged Sammy and kissed her temple. Jackson quietly asked Jessica if she was okay.

"Actually, I'm better than okay," Jessica said. "I think I want to try the eye drops. Sammy made a lot of sense."

"I've been telling you basically the same thing she did for months," Jackson said.

"No, you've been _yelling_ at me for months," Jessica said. She leaned in a gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled. "You should have talked to me like a ten-year-old so I would listen."

Jackson laughed and gave her a quick hug.

 ***0*0*0*0***

After breakfast, Jackson and Jessica went to their room with the promise to meet everyone back downstairs in a few hours for Lily and Zeke's wedding. Jessica was excited to hear about the wedding and asked Chloe to come help get ready.

Beca, Sammy, and Taylor met CR, Stacie, and Aubrey in the lobby a little before 11:00 am. Zeke and Lily joined them shortly after followed by Donald, Fat Amy, and Bumper. Everyone was surprised when Chloe walked in with Jessica and Jackson. There was another round of hugs and greetings. Emily and her mother Katherine were the last to arrive. Everyone settled down when the minister came in.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," the minister said to the group. "I am Reverend Edwards. Lily, Zeke. Good to see you. Are you ready to be married?"

"Yes, sir," Zeke said proudly.

"And do you have someone to stand with you?," Reverend Edwards asked.

"Oh, um, CR? Would you do me the honor of standing with me?," Lily asked.

"Absolutely," CR said and stood next to Lily.

"Beca?," Zeke said. "I know it's a little unorthodox but would you stand with me?"

"I'd be honored, Zeke," Beca said and stood next to Zeke.

Reverend Edwards began the ceremony. "We come now to the words Zeke and Lily want to hear the most today…the words that take them across the threshold from being engaged to being married.

A marriage, as most of us understand it, is a voluntary and full commitment. It is made in the deepest sense to the exclusion of all others, and it is entered into with the desire and hope that it will last for life.

Before you declare your vows to one another, I want to hear you confirm that it is indeed your intention to be married today."

Reverend Edwards turns to look at Zeke. "Zeke, do you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to Lily in marriage? If so, answer 'I do'."

"I do," Zeke said and smiled at Lily.

"Lily, do you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to Zeke in marriage? If so, answer 'I do'."

"I do," Lily said.

"Zeke and Lily, having heard that it is your intention to be married to each other, I now ask you to declare your marriage vows. Please face each other and hold hands."

Zeke and Lily face each other and take the other's hands in theirs.

"Zeke," Reverend Edwards said. "Please repeat after me…I, Zeke, take you, Lily, to be my wife. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I promise to give you respect, love, and loyalty. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives."

Zeke repeats the words and Reverend Edwards turns to Lily.

"Lily, please repeat after me…I, Lily, take you, Zeke, to be my husband. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I promise to give you respect, love, and loyalty. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives."

Lily repeats the words. Reverend Edwards asks for the rings.

"Your wedding rings are the outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible bond which already unites you two hearts in love. Zeke, place the ring on Lily's finger and repeat after me….I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end, my love is also forever.

Zeke's hands are shaking as he places the ring on Lily's finger and repeats the words. He then pushes the ring until it is snug on Lily's hand.

"Lily, place the ring on Zeke's finger and repeat after me….I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end, my love is also forever."

Lily places the ring on Zeke's finger and repeats the words.

"May the wedding rings you exchanged today remind you always that you are surrounded by enduring love," Reverend Edwards said.

The Reverend looks at Zeke and Lily. "Everyone has advice for newlyweds. Zeke and Lily, I offer these good wishes to you on this special day. May your life together be blessed with prosperity and good health. May you always share open and honest communication between each other. May you respect each other's individual talents and gifts and give full support to each other's professional and personal pursuits. May you cherish the home and family you will create together. May all the years to come be filled with moments to celebrate and renew your love. May your love be a life-long source of excitement, contentment, affection, respect, and devotion for one another." Reverend Edwards pauses for a moment. "And so now by the power vested in me by the District of Columbia, it is my honor and delight to declare you husband and wife. You may seal this declaration with a kiss."

Zeke and Lily kiss and everyone starts clapping.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Zeke Williams!"

The couple turn and everyone starts hugging and congratulating them. Zeke finally gets their attention.

"We have a small brunch set up next door for everyone," Zeke said. "Reverend we do hope you'll join us."

"Thank you," Reverend Edwards said. "I'd like that."

 ***0*0*0*0***

Everyone enjoyed the brunch and things were winding down.

"Lily," Chloe said. "Aren't you going to have the first dance together as husband and wife?"

"We hadn't planned on it," Lily said

"You have to," Katherine said. "It's tradition."

"But we don't have any music," Zeke said.

The Bellas in attendance just looked at him and laughed.

"Zeke," Beca said with a smirk. "We make our own music." She gathered everyone together including Donald and Bumper. They talked a bit and once they decided on a song, Chloe told Lily and Zeke to get into position. As soon as Zeke took Lily in his arms the music started. And then Beca started singing.

 _What would I do without your smart mouth  
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out  
Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down  
What's going on in that beautiful mind  
I'm on your magical mystery ride  
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright_

Zeke leads Lily around the small dance area. Bumper jumps in for the next few lines.

 _My head's under water  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

Lily and Zeke stare into the other's eyes as they sway and move to the music. CR, Jessica, and Amy took the next verse.

 _'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all, all of me  
And you give me all, all of you_

Chloe, Emily, and Katherine are next.

 _How many times do I have to tell you  
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too  
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every move  
You're my downfall, you're my muse  
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues  
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you_

Amy joins Bumper and sings.

 _My head's under water  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

Beca lets them all know to sing the final verse, which they do in true a cappella fashion.

 _'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all, all of you  
Give me all of you_

Zeke dips Lily on the final note of the song and kisses her before letting her back up. Reverend Edwards and Jackson both start clapping.

"That was wonderful," Reverend Edwards declares.

Everyone congratulates Zeke and Lily again before heading back to their rooms. Beca and Chloe want the girls to rest before the evening's event. Everyone was excited to get to go to the White House. Stace and Aubrey spent over an hour adding all the new arrivals to their guest list. Things were strict when it came to gaining entry into the White House, but not as strict as they once were before the infection outbreak. They were able to get everyone listed and when they heard that three Nobel Prize winners were a part of the group, the coordinators were ecstatic.

"Okay everyone," Aubrey said. "There will be limos arriving at about 6:00 pm to take us to the White House. Everyone meet down here at 5:45 so we can leave when the limos arrive. The ceremony starts at 7:00 and a small reception will follow."

"Are we really going to get to meet the President?," Taylor asked.

"Yes, we all will," Aubrey responded. "Okay. Don't forget 5:45 down here in the lobby."

"Okay, babe," Stacie said calmly. "Take a breath and relax. It's going to be fine."

Everyone decided to go back to their rooms until it was time to meet. The occupants of the Mitchell room were napping. Stacie was trying to keep Aubrey calm. Jessica and Jackson were visiting with Emily and Katherine in their room.

"Katherine," Jessica said. "How did you feel when you started using the eye drops?"

"Honestly," Katherine said. "I was scared to death. I wanted it to work so badly that it took me a week after getting the first bottle to use it. At first, I didn't think it was working. But, then one morning about a week after I started I woke up and could detect light. I knew the sun was shining in the window. It was an amazing feeling. It took several weeks but I can see so much more now. My doctor says I'm at about eighty percent and he thinks I'll get one-hundred percent of my vision back."

"That's great news," Jackson said. "Hear that, Jess? It will so worth it."

"You don't have to convince me," Jessica told him. "I'm going to visit my doctor to get started as soon as we get back home."

Donald was restless and went to Stacie and Aubrey's room. "Hey, Donald," Stacie said when she saw him at the door. "Come on in."

"I'm sorry to bother you," Donald said. "But I just couldn't relax. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but can you tell me what happened with Jesse? No one will say anything except he didn't make it."

Stacie told Donald about the day Jesse died. She told him how Beca had been the one to end his suffering because they had promised each other that they wouldn't let the other become one of the infected. She also told him how Beca used to have nightmares because of it. She was better now and actually had a little ritual she did every year to mark the anniversary of his death.

Donald felt bad for Beca and Jesse. He thanked Stacie for telling him and went back to his room.

 ***0*0*0*0***

"The limos are here," Stacie announces.

Everyone exits the hotel and are divided to fit into the three limos provided. Beca, Chloe, and their two girls were riding with Stacie and Aubrey. Fat Amy, Bumper, Donald, Lily, and Zeke were riding together. And, Emily, Katherine, Jessica, and Jackson were in the third limo. There were oohs and aahs as they were driven onto the White House grounds.

Three gentlemen opened doors for each of the limos and helped the passengers exit the vehicles. Everyone went through a security check at the door before being allowed in. Once in they were all escorted to a room where they would meet the President and First Lady prior to the actual ceremony. They sat and anxiously waited. Suddenly the doors open and several Secret Service men walked.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stand," one of the Secret Service members said. Everyone immediately stood. The President and First Lady walked in.

"I'm so sorry we are running a bit late," President Bartlett said. "Welcome to the White House. Ms. Posen, Ms. Conrad. It is an honor to meet you both."

"Actually, sir," Stacie said. "We're both Mrs. Posen."

"Oh, my apologies," President Bartlett said. "Mrs. and Mrs. Posen, may I present my wife, Abigail Bartlett."

"Please, call me Abby," Mrs. Bartlett said.

"It's truly a pleasure, Mr. President," Aubrey said. "May I introduce our friends and family?"

"Of course," President Bartlett said. "Although these three here do not need an introduction. Ms. Onakuramara, Ms. Adams, and Mr. Williams. It's truly a pleasure to meet you all. I've read all about the work you've been doing."

"Thank you, sir," Zeke said.

Aubrey then proceeds to introduce the rest of the group. As she finishes the introductions a man comes in and says something to the President.

"It's showtime ladies and gentlemen," President Bartlett said. "The two Mrs. Posens will come with me and Abby. The rest will be escorted to their seating area by these two gentlemen. We'll see you soon." The President then offers his arm to his wife and Stacie and Aubrey follow them.

"This is so exciting," Chloe practically squeals.

The group is escorted to their seats. Stacie and Aubrey are standing on a small stage with two others. The President's Chief of Staff introduces the President and everyone stands. Once he is behind the podium most of the audience sits. Photographers and journalists were on hand and camera flashes were going off. The President begins his speech.

"We are here today to present four of our fellow Americans with the Presidential Medal of Freedom," President Bartlett said. "This award is the nation's highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

The President proceeds to read the recipient's name and their accomplishments before bestowing the medal to them. The badge of the Presidential Medal of Freedom is in the form of a golden star with white enamel, with a red enamel pentagon behind it; the central disc bears thirteen gold stars on a blue enamel background (taken from the Great Seal of the United States) within a golden ring. Golden American bald eagles with spread wings stand between the points of the star. It is worn around the neck on a blue ribbon with white edge stripes.

Stacie was the last to receive the award. Once she had received it she stepped back to stand next to Aubrey. Both had a tear in their eye because they were so honored to receive the award. The award recipients were escorted off the stage to another room to have photos taken separately and with the President. Afterward, they met up with their friends in the reception room.

"Brey! Stacie!," Chloe said grabbing them both in a hug. "We are so proud of you."

"Yeah, Posen and Posen," Beca said. "This is well-deserved and we thank you for letting us be a part of it."

After about thirty minutes, Amy walked up to Aubrey and Stacie. "So, when can you blow this popsicle stand?," she asked.

"Well, the President has already left," Stacie said. "So, I think we just need to let someone know we're ready to go so the limos can be notified."

"What do you have in mind?," Aubrey asked.

"I'm thinking we go back to the hotel and hit the bar," Amy said. "Celebrate Bellas style!"

"Let's do it," Aubrey said with a laugh. Stacie finds someone and the limos are brought around for them.

The group arrives at the hotel and Beca and Chloe take Sammy and Taylor to their room. Jessica and Jackson offer to stay with them so Beca and Chloe can join the others. Jessica shot down their arguments by telling them she didn't drink and neither did Jackson. They thanked them and made their way to the bar.

Chloe grabs Beca's arm before they entered the bar and pulled her into a kiss. "I love you," Chloe said.

"I love you, too," Beca said.

"I just wanted to say it since we haven't had much alone time the past few days," Chloe said.

"That's okay," Beca said. "We have the rest of our lives to find some alone time."

"Let's go party like we used to," Chloe said and gave Beca another kiss.

Just then they heard Amy yelling, "shots, shots, shots"

The couple laughed and walked into the bar to join their friends. Beca looked around at them and couldn't help but be proud of all of them. Five years ago she couldn't imagine being back with her friends, her family. Thinking she was never going to see any of them again. And, now, they were all going to be facing the future together. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

She looked up when she heard Amy suddenly shout. She shook her head as she walked over to the Aussie saying, "Okay, Amy. Let's put the shirt back on."

Yep, she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **That's it. All done. Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Song used:** _ **All of Me**_ **by John Legend. I don't own anything to do with John Legend or the song.**

 **Movie quote from** _ **The Breakfast Club.**_ **I do not own anything regarding** _ **The Breakfast Club**_ **or** _ **Pitch Perfect**_ **.**


End file.
